UN representative Angelina Jolie visits refugees in Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, Jun 21 (EFE).- Special envoy for the United Nations refugee agency (ACNUR) Angelina Jolie this weekend visited refugees and internally displaced people in Burkina Faso.
“I’m here to show my solidarity with the Bukinabe people, who continue to welcome the displaced brothers and sisters despite terrible attacks and challenges, sharing what little they have at a time when other countries with far more have closed their borders and their minds to the refugees,” Jolie told a conference at the Goudoubo refugee camp, located in the Sahel.
During her stay in Burkina Faso, Jolie visited internally-displaced people in Kaya, 100-kilometers north of the capital Ouagadougou, as well as the Goudoubo camp, which mainly takes in people fleeing from neighboring Mali.
The world-famous actor and UN envoy met with president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, with whom she discussed humanitarian issues, including the living conditions at the refugee camps.
The security situation in Burkina Faso has drastically deteriorated in recent years with a rise in jihadist activity and conflict, especially in the north and in neighboring nations.
Since 2019, an estimated 1.2 million people have fled from their homes in the West African country.
The country’s most deadly massacre took place on June 5 when armed men killed at least 160 people in a village in the north of the Sahel region.
Although the attack went unclaimed, there are several terror groups active in the country, including al-Qaeda and affiliates of the Islamic State.
The Sahel region borders unstable areas in Mali and Niger.EFE
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