Sahel Governor Lt. Col. PF Rodolphe Sorgho said the women were abducted on January 12-13 approximately 15 kilometres from the town of Arbinda in Soum province. He added they were abducted while out in the countryside gathering wild fruit.

The West African nation of Burkina Faso has been overrun by jihadi violence linked to Al Qaeda and terrorist gorup ISIS that has killed thousands and displaced nearly 2 million people in recent years.?

Successive governments' failure to stop the fighting has caused widespread discontent, and triggered two military coups in 2022 — the latter against the first military regime to seize power. However, the current military junta, which seized power in September vowing to restore security, is still struggling to stem the violence.

A total of 116 security incidents were recorded in the second week of January, according to an internal security report for aid groups seen by The Associated Press. That marks a more than 60 per cent increase compared to the last week of December.

Islamists have besieged towns around the country, preventing people and goods from moving freely.?

The town of Arbinda has been under jihadi blockade for years, making women more vulnerable to attacks if they try to leave, rights groups say.

Amnesty International's Ousmane Diallo said, "It's a very concerning and serious development in Burkina Faso that exposes the vulnerability of women in areas under blockade. The rights of civilians and their rights to their livelihoods must be protected by all parties to the conflict. There needs to be more attention and more protection of civilians by the government in these besieged towns, but also (a) tailored approach to the protection of women and girls."

At the time of the coup in October, the Burkina Faso's government was said to be in control of just about 60 per cent of the country. The poor security situation was one of the reasons of the coup.

"Faced by the continually worsening security situation, we the officers and junior officers of the national armed forces were motivated to take action with the desire to protect the security and integrity of our country," said a statement by the new military rulers.

On June 11, over a hundred people were killed in a single jihadist attack in Burkina Faso's area bordering Niger.

"Armed men killed at least 100 civilians in a rural district of northern Burkina Faso close to the border with Niger over the weekend...No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the assault happened in borderlands where militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are waging an insurgency," reported Reuters at the time.?

(With AP inputs)