Burkina Faso: More than 1.7 million people have fled within the country

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Hundreds of thousands have fled within Burkina Faso since the military coup in January (archive image)

Photo: OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT/ AFP

In West Africa's Burkina Faso, more than 1.7 million people are internally displaced, according to several aid organizations.

In a joint statement, four aid organizations, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Action Against Hunger, Medecins du Monde France and Oxfam, called for money to be donated for humanitarian aid.

At least two out of three displaced persons in Burkina Faso are children, the aid organizations said.

So far, only half of the required amount has been funded.

Despite the crisis in Ukraine, the Sahel region should not be deprived of resources or attention, the aid organizations warned.

The country with 21 million inhabitants has been in a severe humanitarian crisis since 2019.

Armed groups, some of whom have sworn allegiance to the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) or the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, are active there and in the neighboring countries of Mali and Niger.

Protracted droughts and famines also make things difficult for the country, which is impoverished despite rich gold deposits.

The military has ruled the country since a coup in January.

svs/dpa