Violence displaces 70,000 people in Burkina Faso — UN

Almost 70,000 people have been displaced in Burkina Faso in the past two months due to a surge in attacks and intercommunity violence, according to the UN.

In total, more than 100,000 people have been uprooted from their homes, predominantly from the Est, Nord, Centre-Nord and Sahel regions, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) said on Tuesday.

Armed attacks have also forced the closure of more than 1,100 schools, depriving around 150,000 children of education, according to CERF.

Some 120,000 people lack access to medical care, as health centres in violence-affected regions are closed or providing only minimal services, the agency said.

Attacks by alleged militants have become increasingly frequent in Burkina Faso, which borders the Sahel region in the north, including Mali and Niger.

In other areas, clashes over land between herders and farmers have also displaced the local population.

The West African nation of roughly 20 million people is amongst the world’s 10 poorest nations, according to the UN.

(dpa/NAN)