Special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, visited the Godibo camp in northeastern Burkina Faso on Sunday to support thousands of Malian refugees who fled from jihadist violence, as reported by Agence France-Presse. The American star arrived at the camp by helicopter accompanied by Burkina Faso's Foreign Minister Alpha Barry to celebrate World Refugee Day, which is observed annually on June 20.
After visiting the extensive camp, Jolie stated, "I celebrate this day every year... with refugees in different countries, and I have never felt as concerned about the state of displacement in the world as I do today." She added, "The truth is we are not doing half of what we can and should do to find solutions to allow refugees to return home or support host countries," calling for support for countries hosting refugees like Burkina Faso.
In March 2020, following a new attack on the security center of this camp, which housed up to 9,000 refugees, those who remained there after previous attacks were forced to flee as well, leading to the closure of Godibo. However, since December, the authorities of Burkina Faso and the UN Commissioner have repatriated refugees to this camp after enhancing security by deploying additional military personnel and conducting more patrols.
Between December and June, approximately 11,000 people from cities in northern Burkina Faso returned to Godibo, according to the commission. The representative of the refugees in Godibo, Wanadine Ag Mohammed, stated that refugees are suffering "because the security situation deteriorates day by day despite the efforts made by Burkina Faso authorities, their partners, and defense and security forces in the Sahel region."
