Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Burkina Faso; and if he will make a statement.

​We are deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso, particularly as violence spreads from the north to the east and south-west of the country. The UK does not have an Embassy in Burkina Faso but we are providing approximately £4.5m in humanitarian assistance to ICRC, World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF to provide basic assistance to people affected by conflict and food insecurity. We are also tackling the regional drivers of instability which impact on Burkina Faso, including encouraging faster progress in the Mali peace process, and supporting France's Operation Barkhane, the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA, and the G5 Sahel Joint Force.