By Muhammad Amaan
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said more than 4.8 million people across Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are facing food insecurity resulting from the spate of terrorist attacks and military takeover of their governments.
President of the ECOWAS Commission Omar Touray said this in his address at the 51st Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial Level in Abuja.
He observed that from January 1 to October 23, 2023, no fewer than 1,503 incidents of terrorist attacks were recorded in Burkina Faso, 1,044 incidents of terrorist attacks in Mali and 376 in Niger.
According to him, it has been 166 attacks since July attempted coup in Niger.
Touray stated that such incidents have resulted in several fatalities 6,811 in Burkina Faso, 2,889 in Mali, 768 in Niger, and that is 557 since July alone in Niger.
“In addition to the unbearable toll on human lives, insecurity continues to have dire humanitarian consequences.
“In just Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger a total of 4.8 million people faced food insecurity; 2.4 million people are internally displaced, and close to 9,000 schools remain closed.
“This aggregation of the data shows that Burkina Faso has the highest number of food insecure people close to 2.2 million, followed by Niger with 1.9 million, and Mali with about a million.
“Burkina Faso also accounts for the largest number of internally displaced people with about two million, while Mali and Niger each have close to half a million displaced persons.”
He further said the number of schools closed stands at 6,000 in Burkina Faso, 1,700 in Mali and 1,000 in Niger.
According to him, ECOWAS continues to make efforts for a quick return to constitutional order in these countries.
“A memorandum on the subject will be presented to you that will provide details on the issues.
Touray said in line with the relevant provisions of the supplementary protocol on democracy and good governance the commission has accompanied the relatively smooth conduct of elections within the region.
“We observed all the key elections in the community this year, namely Nigeria, Benin, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
“For the just concluded presidential elections in Liberia, we are elated by the show of statesmanship by former president George Weah, for graciously accepting the outcome of the elections.
“We continue to monitor the situation and provide support to the prospect of the impending ongoing election processes in Senegal and Ghana.
“We will remain vigilant over events leading up to these elections to ensure stability in our community.”
The president of the commission also stressed that West Africa has a huge humanitarian situation that will take decades to resolve.
He said humanitarian access has remained more complex and restricted, making it difficult for millions of civilians trapped in conflict zones and displaced persons to be reached.
According to him, this is particularly the case with “our people in the frontline states of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria.
“Humanitarian actors still find it difficult to reach populations in crisis-affected regions as their safety becomes less guaranteed in the face of abductions, and summary executions.
“The decreasing humanitarian access particularly in the Republic of Niger, has exacerbated health, water, and sanitation challenges.
“I have been able to provide you with an overview of the detailed memoranda that will be presented to you today for your deliberations.
“I am confident that your presence and robust engagement with the agenda items will contribute to making informed decisions and constructive recommendations for the attention of the authority.”
