Arbinda on the Brink of Collapse: Residents Issue Plea for Help

Arbinda, November 18, 2025 - In Arbinda, located in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, the humanitarian situation has become dire. Isolated for months due to a suffocating blockade and cut off from all supplies, the town now faces a severe food crisis. On the morning of November 18, 2025, residents, weakened by hunger, took to the streets to issue a desperate plea for assistance.

With few options remaining, some residents said they might attempt to reach Djibo on foot, despite the high risks posed by insecurity and exhaustion. For many, staying in Arbinda feels like waiting silently for death, and this bleak reality is forcing families to consider unimaginable measures in the hope of survival.

A profound feeling of abandonment grips the population, who claim that the Burkinabe state has left them to face a crisis beyond their control. In a region already suffering from armed attacks and isolation, famine is now more severe than ever, plunging Arbinda into despair.

In a second video, local residents stated that this is the first time in their lives that Arbinda has faced such a catastrophic situation, marked by insecurity, hunger, and abandonment. Many expressed their anger toward Captain Ibrahim Traoré, whom they described as “the worst president to have led Burkina Faso.”