After kidnapping in Burkina Faso: 66 people in Burkina Faso freed

Status: 01/21/2023 00:22

In West Africa’s Burkina Faso, 66 kidnapped people, including four babies, have been found and taken to the capital, Ouagadougou. They were transported by army helicopter and received by ministers.

By Dunja Sadaqi, ARD Studio Rabat

The women and small children kidnapped a week ago in Burkina Faso are free again. This was announced by the West African country’s state television. Accordingly, 62 women and four babies were freed by soldiers on Friday. According to the government, they were kidnapped by Islamist extremists.

Burkinabe state television released footage showing the women and children being taken to the capital, Ouagadougou. The women are said to have been kidnapped a week ago near the northern town of Arbinda as they left their village to look for food. The authorities then said they had launched a search operation on the ground and in the air.

For months, extremists have blocked communities in northern Burkina Faso, shielding the areas from food deliveries. This forces residents to leave their villages and makes abductions possible. According to security forces, this is a new tactic used by the suspected Islamist extremists.

Thousands dead, millions fleeing

There have been repeated attacks on soldiers and the civilian population in Burkina Faso since 2015. This has led to thousands of deaths, millions of people are on the run. Most recently, the military had seized power twice within a year – and promised to improve the security situation.

The military junta now wants to train and arm more than 50,000 volunteers to support the army in the fight against terrorism. So far, however, this has been unsuccessful. Security experts estimate that armed groups already control around 40 percent of the country’s territory.

Burkina Faso: Women and babies freed after jihadist kidnapping

Dunja Sadaqi, ARD Rabat, 20.1.2023 11:43 p.m

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