Ouagadougou – More than half a million children in Burkina Faso are unable to go to school because of attacks by jihadists, the government said on Wednesday.
Armed Islamists have forced the closure of 3 280 schools – nearly one in seven nationwide – affecting 511 221 students and 14 901 teachers, government spokesman Alkassoum Maiga said after a cabinet meeting.
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The landlocked Sahel state has been battling jihadist insurgents since 2015, when militants started to mount cross-border raids from neighbouring Mali.
More than 2 000 people have died, according to a toll compiled by AFP.
The national emergency aid body Conasure says that 1.5 million people, nearly two-thirds of them children, were internally displaced as of November 30.
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Source AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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