ReliefWeb

Situation

• 1,378 persons (including 344 women and 724 children) are internally displaced with an increased demand for education and health services in host communities.

• 11 schools remain closed in Soum, continues to affect the education of 891 students (including 434 girls).

Overview

Since early January 2017, the province of Soum in the Sahel region has been affected by successive threats and attacks by the armed extremist group “Ansaroul Islam.” On 3 March 2017 a teacher along with a civilian were murdered by the group in Kourfayel, a village close to Djibo, the capital city of Soum. The attacks targeted schools and police posts and caused a wide spread fear especially among teachers. As a result 100% of schools in Soum and some schools in other provinces were closed for three weeks in March, affecting 72,584 children.

In March/April, military forces of Burkina Faso and Mali with support from the French, conducted a cross border operation against the extremist group. Thanks to the operations, no new attacks targeting schools have been reported since early March. All of the schools previously closed have resumed their classesin April, except 11 schools in Soum). Eight health centers in Soum which were temporarily closed during the crises resumed their services since mid-May 2017. The persistent insecurity in the province, however, has caused population movements. Overall, 1378 persons including 344 women and 724 children have been internally displaced in the province of Soum, mainly in 12 villages in Diguel, Baraboulé and Djibo communes (map). So far, no separated or unaccompanied children have been registered.UNICEF-supported constructions of water and sanitation facilities in schools, villages or health centers in the region have also been disrupted. The recent attack and the temporary kidnapping of a government delegation during the UNICEF-funded field mission for water and sanitation (27 April in Oudalan) could further aggravate the fear of local authorities and contractors.