Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

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

The UK is deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel, including in Burkina Faso. There were more deaths by violence in the Sahel in 2020 than in any previous year in the past decade. I discussed regional insecurity and its impact on Burkina Faso with President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in January.

Through our recent deployment to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and our programmatic support for stabilisation and conflict resolution, the UK is committed to building long-term peace and stability in the Sahel. We also use our humanitarian assistance to support those worst affected by conflict. I am saddened by recent incidents in Burkina Faso, including the destruction by landmine explosion of an ambulance carrying six people in March 2021, and the attack in April 2021 which killed a number of people involved in an anti-poaching project in eastern Burkina Faso. I condemn these attacks and urge the Burkinabe authorities to bring their perpetrators to justice.