On November 19, a group of women sent a letter to the Federation of Islamic Associations of Burkina. A correspondence which exposes the concern of several Burkinabè women, without news of their husbands, who remain untraceable and whose names do not appear on any register. RFI was able to speak with some of them, who agreed to broadcast their appeal for help anonymously.
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Since the junta took power in Burkina Fasomany civilians as well as soldiers, such as businessman Anselme Sansan Kambou or the former chief of staff of the national gendarmerie, Lieutenant-Colonel Evrard Somda, have disappeared from radar.
In a letter, which they would have preferred to keep secret, wives of Burkinabè soldiers recount the painful conditions in which they have lived since the disappearance of their husbands. A ” cry from the heart » and a “ call for help » facing a “ unbearable and trying situation “.
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Most have not heard from them since last August: “ We don’t know where they are, we are afraid that they are undergoing treatments which should no longer take place in 2024 », ventures one of them. The letter returns in particular to the death “ of two women who lost their lives giving birth under the weight of uncertainty “. Left behind, they testify to the psychological and physical fatigue they experience, the declining academic results of their children and the various appeals made to the government. Without success.
“ We especially do not want to enter into a standoff with the authorities “, insists the woman contacted by RFI on the telephone, going in the direction of a paragraph of the letter which recognizes that the president of Burkina Faso is ” the sole competent authority to make decisions on this subjectt”.
Last April, the Burkinabe government announced the construction of new military penitentiary establishments, causing human rights defenders to fear the creation of secret detention centers.
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