MSF suspends its operations in northwestern Burkina Faso after the murder of two workers

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has suspended its operations in northwestern Burkina Faso after the murder of two of its workers on Wednesday. The attack occurred when gunmen fired at a “clearly identified” organization vehicle, according to an MSF statement, which was traveling between the towns of Dedougou and Tougan, in the Boucle du Mouhoun region, in which four employees were traveling. Two of them, the driver and the logistics supervisor, both Burkinabe, aged 39 and 34 respectively, died as a result of the shots and the other two were able to escape, according to the NGO itself.

The NGO, which provides medical assistance in conflict zones, has reported that it is temporarily suspending its operations in Boucle du Mouhoun, until what happened is clarified. This region is one of those that has suffered the most in recent weeks from the activity of jihadist armed groups linked above all to Al Qaeda. “We are shocked and outraged by this murder,” said Isabelle Defourny, president of MSF, who described the events as a “deliberate and intentional attack against a clearly identified humanitarian team during their medical work.” “Our priority is to support the two colleagues who survived the attack, as well as the families and loved ones of our deceased colleagues. We are going to contact all parties to the conflict to understand what happened,” she added.

The violence that Burkina Faso has suffered since 2015, which has caused more than 10,000 deaths and two million displaced people in eight years

The same Wednesday, another jihadist attack in the Center-East region caused the deaths of six other people, three civilians and three members of the government militia Volunteers for Homeland Defense (VDP). The events occurred at dawn when members of an armed group broke into the town of Bekoure and began to set fire to houses. Likewise, last Saturday another 25 people, three police officers and 22 civilians, were killed by a jihadist group during the brutal attack on the town of Bani, in the northern Sahel region. On February 1, 16 Nigerian pilgrims from the Tijiania brotherhood traveling to Senegal were also executed in the eastern region.

Captain Ibrahim Traore, the Burkinabe president, assured in an interview with Burkinabe Radio Television (RTB) last week that he was not willing to open any type of negotiation with these armed groups. More than half of the country’s territory is outside the control of the State and violent incidents are daily, especially carried out by the jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, but also those that have their origin in the violent repression of the militias. that support the Army and the Defense and Security Forces.

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