Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

2 min read
17 January 2023 | 12:30 CAT

Gunmen abducted about 50 women in Soum in Burkina Faso on January 12 and 13, according to the government of the region.

Picture credit: Macro photography.

“As soon as their disappearance was announced, efforts were launched to find all of these innocent victims safe and sound,” says Sahel regional governor Lieutenant-Colonel Rodolphe Sorgho in a statement on Monday.

According to Reuters, relatives say the missing women were out picking wild fruit outside the village of Liki, around 15 km from the town of Aribinda when they were abducted by unknown men.

The region has been facing an insurgency by terrorist groups, however, women have not previously been kidnapped in such numbers.

Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) human rights chief Volker Turk called for the release of the women in a statement on Monday.

“I call for the immediate and unconditional release of all the abducted women and for the national authorities to promptly conduct an effective, impartial and independent investigation to identify those responsibly and hold them to account,” Turk said.

Burkina Faso, being one of the poorest countries in the world has been struggling to contain violent activity by armed groups despite costly international military efforts to curb it.

This has led to the death of thousands of civilians and members of the security forces while two million people have been displaced and forced to live in makeshift camps.