Burkina Faso attacks displace thousands in 10 days: UN

Armed groups displace some 17,500 people in Burkina Faso in recent days, UNHCR says, in attempt to cause ‘mayhem’.

More than 17,500 people in Burkina Faso have been forcefully displaced from their homes in the past 10 days due to a series of attacks by unidentified armed groups that have killed 45 people, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said. Attacks by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the West African Sahel region have been rising sharply since the start of the year, particularly in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, with civilians bearing the brunt. A UNHCR statement on Friday said gunmen had carried out a series of attacks in three separate regions, burning down houses and shooting civilians dead. The assailants also ransacked health centres and damaged homes and shops.