Eight children perished from malnutrition in the Burkinabe town of Djibo, which is under a blockade by jihadist elements, civil society organizations have said.
The northeastern town of Djibo, located in the Sahel region 208 kilometers from Ouagadougou, is under jihadist blockade.
The Burkinabe army is now forced to convey supplies to this region by helicopter, according to sources close to APA.
This town is now under the control of armed groups who are blocking access to the Burkinabe army. According to Idrissa Badini of the Soum civil society consultation framework, eight children have died as a result of the famine. The civil society leader did not elaborate on the gender or age of the adolescents.
However, Badini described a humanitarian situation in the region that was “catastrophic” and on the verge of famine. In a report released in May 2022, the United Nations Children’s Organization (UNICEF) Burkina, said it was ‘one of the most violent and rapid crises in the world.”
Indeed, in Burkina, “an estimated 700,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition; more than 179,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, which can be fatal if left untreated,” reads the official note.
Five provinces in the country, including Soum, have reached emergency levels of food insecurity and are approaching the threshold for an official declaration of famine, UNICEF Burkina said.
The civil society actor is calling for “urgent” assistance to the city. “Efforts are being made to save those who are still alive in Djibo and promises of all kinds are pending. But until that happens, we can’t sleep,” he said.
His appeal did not fall on deaf ears, as 70 tonnes of food and basic necessities were flown into the town of Djibo on Tuesday, October 3.
“This is the first operation to bring some relief to the people,” said Lassana Bary, who initiated a digital campaign, “Air Bridge for Djibo” and “Act for Djibo.”
The campaign consists of sending “clear messages to our authorities and the international community” to alert them to the food situation in Djobo.
“Children are dying of hunger, we must act,” he insists. The last humanitarian convoy to this town on September 26, 2022 was the target of a terrorist attack in Gaskinde. Claimed by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a jihadist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda, the attack officially left 27 soldiers dead, 28 wounded and about 50 missing.
DS/cgd/fss/abj/APA