The NGO Médecins sans frontières (MSF) announced in a press release on Friday February 17 to suspend all of its activities in Burkina Faso, after two of its employees were killed on February 8 during an attack by suspected jihadists in the northwest of the country. “In all localities where MSF supports and provides medical and humanitarian aid, only vital emergencies will be provided for an indefinite period”explains the text.
On Wednesday February 8, MSF announced the death of two of its Burkinabe employees killed the same day by “armed men” who had ” targeted “ and “Médecins sans frontières vehicle, clearly identified”. The vehicle, which was carrying a medical team of four, was on the road between Dédougou and Tougan, in the northwest of the country.
“This measure, necessary for the time of mourning, is essential to analyze the risks to which our teams are currently exposed.explains the NGO. It is also a question of reaffirming the unacceptable nature of this attack against colleagues traveling in a clearly identified MSF vehicle as part of their medical mission. » On February 8, the president of MSF, Isabelle Defourny, denounced “a deliberate and intentional attack”.
Burkina Faso, the scene of two military coups in 2022, has been caught since 2015 in a spiral of jihadist violence that appeared in Mali a few years earlier and which has spread beyond its borders. The violence killed more than 12,000 people – civilians and soldiers – according to the NGO Acled, which lists the victims of conflicts around the world. Some 2 million people are internally displaced.