They fled violence; now the government in Burkina Faso tries to hide their existence

Over 2.1 million displaced in Burkina Faso face violence, discrimination, and neglect, challenging the military junta's stability narrative.

Their loved ones were slaughtered by Islamic extremists or government-affiliated fighters. Their villages were attacked, their homes destroyed. Exhausted and traumatised, they fled in search of safety, food and shelter.

This is the reality for over 2.1 million displaced people across the West African nation of Burkina Faso, torn apart by years of extreme violence.

But unlike others displaced in the region, they are seen as a challenge to Burkina Faso’s military junta that took power two years ago on the pledge of bringing stability. Their existence contradicts its official narrative: that security is improving and people are safely returning home.

Those who fled to Ouagadougou, the capital, which has been shielded from violence, find fear instead of respite. They are made into shadows, with many resorting to begging. Most of them are not entitled to support from authorities, and international aid organisations are not authorised to work with them.

With no official displacement sites in Ouagadougou, no one knows how many people shelter in the capital or sleep on the streets. A rare acknowledgement of their existence by authorities noted 30,000 last year. But aid groups say real numbers are much higher. And as violence increases, and people crowd displacement sites in the country’s remote north and east, exposed to hunger and disease, more are expected to arrive in the capital.

One aid worker, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, described the situation as “a ticking bomb.”

The AP interviewed four displaced people in Ouagadougou. All spoke at great risk. Three are with the Fulani ethnic group, which authorities accuse of being affiliated with Islamic insurgents. All three said they have faced discrimination in the capital, with trouble finding jobs and sending children to school.