Massive school closures due to violence in Central and West Africa. Russian passenger plane has to make an emergency landing

According to aid agencies, some 13,200 schools in eight countries in Central and West Africa must remain closed due to increasing insecurity and terrorism. In the past four years, the number of school closures due to uncertainty has almost doubled; The education of 2.5 million children is at immediate risk, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN children’s fund Unicef ​​warned in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The situation was said to be particularly acute in the center of the Sahel region. The number of closed schools increased almost sixfold between 2019 and 2023, from 1,700 to almost 9,000. Burkina Faso alone is responsible for half of the region’s school closures, the organizations said. More than 6,100 schools were closed there in July. “A lot of [Kinder] will be forced to work, join armed groups or marry, which will destroy their future,” said Hassane Hamadou, regional director of the NRC in Central and West Africa.

In some cases, schools are the target of attacks by armed groups. A total of 147 such incidents were reported in Central and West Africa between January and August. In other cases, schools would be abandoned or abandoned due to forced relocations. Some children would not have access to schools for months or even years. The future of entire generations of children is in danger, aid organizations warned.

Numerous armed groups are active in many countries in the Sahel region, which stretches from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in East Africa, some of which have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group or the Al Qaeda terrorist network. The governments of the affected countries have so far tried in vain to push back the jihadists. In some countries, armed groups control entire parts of the national territory. (sda/dpa)