Fleeing Terrorism: Burkinabe Refugees Seek Safety in Benin

Speaking during a televised address on Sunday, Beninese government spokesperson Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, announced the granting of asylum to 5,000 Burkinabe refugees who had recently arrived in the north of Benin. Highlighting the increasing security threat facing its neighbor, Houngbedji promised that the refugees would receive "all the necessary humanitarian assistance so that, when the conditions are right in their country, they can return there.".What You Need to Know.Benin has welcomed Burkinabe refugees even before Captain Ibrahim Traore took power in Burkina Faso in a military coup in September 2022. In 2021, 200 Burkinabe refugees from Yabtanjouagou moved into northwestern Benin, with Benin appearing to many refugees as safer, and holding more economic opportunities..The biggest driver of insecurity in the country, terrorism, remains the largest push factor in the movement of peoples across the country's borders into neighboring nations such as Benin..Moreover, the volume of refugees fleeing Burkina Faso appears to be growing, even with Traore releasing statements earlier this month accusing both the Ivory Coast and Benin of hosting French bases with the aim to destabilize Burkina Faso and the wider region, claiming the bases are used to "train terrorists.".The governments of both Benin and the Ivory Coast have refuted the accusations, with the Beninese government summoning the Burkinabe Ambassador, David Kabre, in the aftermath..Justifying the rule of his military junta, Traore has claimed that civilian rule in the country will come as soon as the security situation improves, with Traore turning to Russia for military equipment and regime support..With French military operations in the country officially coming to a close in February last year, the country's military junta has, like its neighbors Mali and Niger, struggled to make gains against Islamic militants..According to the UN Refugee Agency, Burkina Faso currently has over two million internally displaced civilians and hosts 38,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Mali, who have also fled Islamic militants..The overwhelming numbers of civilians in need has led to a humanitarian crisis, with the Refugee Agency appealing to West African states in mid-2023 not to deport Burkinabe refugees..By June 2023, 67,000 Burkinabe civilians had fled to neighboring countries, such as Benin, the Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana, Mali, and Niger..So, What Now?.The deteriorating humanitarian and security environments in Burkina Faso is likely to lead to increased instances of civilians seeking aid in neighboring nations. Of note is Burkina Faso's increasingly aggressive rhetoric towards Benin and the Ivory Coast, which serves to further isolate the country regionally in addition to the international isolation brought on by the September coup..International and even regional isolation creates many issues for the country, particularly for aid organizations, as reaching in-need populations becomes more difficult due to the threat posed by Islamic militants as well as the Russian mercenaries fighting on the side of the regime.