Fifty women abducted by suspected Jihadists in northern Burkina Faso: Report
Representative image. 50 women abducted in Burkina Faso.
Fifty women were abducted by suspected Jihadists in northern Burkina Faso. People familiar with the developments told the news agency AFP on Sunday (January 15) that roughly 40 women were abducted about a dozen kilometres southeast of the Arbinda town on Thursday and about 20 others were abducted on Friday to the north of the town, with some escaping in the meantime. Local officials who confirmed these abductions said the army and its civilian authorities carried out unsuccessful sweeps of the area.
Two Arbinda residents divulged details about the abductions. One resident told AFP on Sunday that on Thursday, the women got together with their carts to go and gather leaves and wild fruits in the bush as there was nothing left to eat.
Another resident, a male, said that when the women did not come back on Thursday evening, "we thought that their carts had had a problem. But three survivors came back to tell us what happened." This resident said that on Friday, eight kilometres north of Arbinda, about 20 women who were not informed of the first abduction, were in turn taken. "In both groups, some women managed to escape and returned to the village on foot. We believe that the kidnappers took them to their bases," he added.
The commune of Arbinda is located in the Sahel region of northern Burkina Faso, an area under blockade by jihadist groups and with limited food supplies.
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These abductions come after nine people were killed in a mosque attack in Goulgountou village of Sahel on Wednesday when suspected jihadists arrived on motorcycles and herded worshippers inside (mosque). "They separated the women, children and elderly and then made sermons to try to convince worshippers of abandoning their form of faith," a witness told AFP, adding "A discussion even started up with the imam, and because he refused he was executed." Eight other worshippers in the mosque, who were mainly community leaders, were killed.
And in November last year, at least 14 people were killed in two separate attacks by jihadist groups in Burkina Faso's north.
Since 2015, the country has been battling a jihadist offensive in which thousands of civilians and security forces personnel have been killed and around two million people have been displaced.
(With inputs from agencies)
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