Burkina Faso: Government confirms militants have kidnapped 50 women, search initiated

Confirming earlier reports, the government said on Monday that around 50 women searching for food were kidnapped by militants in Burkina Faso's northern province of Soum on January 12 and 13.The mass kidnapping was the first such instance since the insurgency spread to Burkina Faso from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

While Westerners and locals are occasionally captured, women had not previously been abducted in such numbers.

The women were kidnapped by armed men from two locations near the town of Aribinda while they were picking fruit.

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"Searching has started with the aim of finding all these innocent victims safe and sound," the government said in a statement.

The people in the region have been facing dire living situation. Relatives of the women told Reuters there wasn't enough food to feed their families in the village, which is why the women were out scouring the bushes for fruits, leaves and seeds which they could feed the children.

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Burkina Faso is one of several West African countries battling a violent insurgency linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State. The groups have seized large expanses of territory over the past decade in the region.

According to the United Nations, agriculture in the area has taken a hit as thousands of people have died due to the violence and more than 2.7 million displaced across the Sahel, resulting in rising hunger levels.

Insurgents have blockaded parts of the arid north in recent months, causing acute food shortages, and it has become increasingly dangerous to deliver supplies to trapped citizens.

A 150-vehicle convoy taking supplies to the northern town of Djibo, the capital of Soum, was attacked by militants in September, killing dozens of soldiers.

The US State Department said it was deeply concerned by the abduction of the women.

"Those abducted must be returned safely to their loved ones immediately and unconditionally, and those responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

"Women can walk up to four kilometre (into the bush) to look for food," said one villager in Aribinda.

The villager added that the men were too scared to venture far from their homes for fear of being shot by jihadists. "That is why the women were kidnapped," the villager said.

Burkina Faso witnessed two military coups last year as people are frustrated with the authorities' failure to restore security and protect civilians.

(With inputs from agencies)

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