In northern Ivory Coast, thousands of refugees have fled from neighboring Burkina Faso due to jihadist attacks and massacres committed by army-backed militiamen targeting the Fulani community. One of the refugees, Ami G., recalled the night gunmen showed up at her village near Titao in northern Burkina Faso. She and her six children fled on foot, walking for several days. "The jihadists killed our husbands and threatened to do the same to us on their next visit," she said. "They had already come and forced us to wear long black dresses. Then, they threatened us with reprisals because we had been speaking with soldiers. There, it is war, they even murder children."
Another refugee, Adama M., shared her story of how armed militants looted her home, killed her aunt, and kidnapped her older brother. The ACLED non-governmental group has reported that more than 26,000 people have been killed in Burkina Faso since the start of the conflict in 2015. An estimated two million people have been forced to flee their homes.
The Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), a force made up of civilians recruited by the army, has been terrorizing the Fulani community. The militia was formed to defend villages against jihadist attacks but has scaled up since junta chief Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in 2022. Many ethnic Fulani people have joined the ranks of the jihadists, making the community a target of the VDP.
Abdoulaye D., a 79-year-old refugee, fled his home in Bobo-Dioulasso after armed men in military uniforms killed his two sons and stole his cattle. "They tied up all the Fulanis and executed them with a rifle," he said. When asked about Captain Traore, his expression turned to anger. "What those in power are doing is ethnic differentiation," he said. "There is no more Burkina for me, even when I die, I don't want my body to be sent there."
Many refugees have shared similar stories of violence and terror. Aminata S. left the northwestern town of Nouna in January 2023 after the VDP killed her husband and parents in a massacre. "They came on a Friday and killed my entire family. There were three Fulani camps -- they fired everywhere and killed 31 people," she said.
