More than 7,000 Burkinabe refugees in Côte d'Ivoire following attacks by jihadist groups -UN
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said here Saturday that insecurity had led to the displacement of 7,000 Burkinabe refugees to northwestern Côte d'Ivoire since May 2021.
"The influx has accelerated over the past six weeks," UNHCR spokesman Boris Cheshirkov told a press conference in Geneva, adding that these new movements of people are not linked to the recent military coup in Burkina Faso.
The UN agency noted that, on average, more than 100 people have recently crossed the border into Côte d'Ivoire every day.
UNHCR has registered and provided assistance to over 4,000 of them.
"The Sahel region, already plagued by political instability, widespread violence, food shortages and disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, is now facing an increase in refugee movements from Burkina Faso, fleeing brutal attacks by armed groups, particularly in the border region with Côte d'Ivoire," Cheshirkov said in a statement posted on the UN website Friday.
In 2021, nearly 20,000 Burkinabé fled to neighbouring countries (Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger and Benin), an increase of 50 per cent compared to 2020.
More than 34,000 Burkinabés are now in exile in the region. On the edge of the Ivorian village of Tougbo, close to the Burkinabe border, makeshift tents with tin roofs are scattered in the forest.
"The plight of Burkinabe refugees is becoming increasingly precarious as more and more people arrive in Côte d'Ivoire without personal belongings or food," the UNHCR spokesman added.
According to UNHCR, many Ivorian families are hosting up to 30 Burkinabe refugees in small houses. But overcrowding is deteriorating health conditions, UNHCR fears.
There are already many cases of malaria, respiratory infections and malnutrition, which increases the pressure on local health structures. In addition to population movements into neighbouring countries, Burkina Faso is also facing an internal displacement crisis.
The number of internally displaced people rose by 50 per cent last year to more than 1.5 million, giving it one of the highest proportions of internally displaced people in Africa, UNHCR noted.
More broadly, the Sahel is also facing an unprecedented rural exodus and movement to urban areas by forcibly displaced people due to declining areas under government control, reduced access to land and agricultural production, and multiple environmental challenges.
In urban centres, women and youth are at risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence, forced recruitment or trafficking. The Sahel is also in the forefront of the climate crisis, with temperatures rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, UNHCR said, adding that "this exacerbates the underlying vulnerabilities of states, which are faced with rapid population growth, environmental destruction, natural hazard disasters, reversal of development gains and encroachment by non-state actors".
In the face of such security and climate challenges, UNHCR said it would soon launch an appeal for the Sahel region.
With a total budget of US$307 million, UNHCR's operations in the central Sahel are only 7 per cent funded.
-0- PANA TNDD/JSG/SOC/BBA/RA 5Feb2022
