Une douzaine de volontaires pour la défense de la patrie (VDP), des supplétifs de l’armée du Burkina Faso, ont été tués mercredi lors d’une nouvelle attaque de jihadistes présumés dans le nord du pays, particulièrement endeuillé ces dernières semaines.
As a region, Africa may not be interested in the Ukraine war, but the war is interested in Africa.
As the world marks the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, it has been suggested that Africa needs a common approach to the war. So far Russia’s aggression has elicited contrary responses across the continent, as evidenced by the equivocal votes on numerous resolutions at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly – including yesterday’s decision calling for an immediate end to the war.
Despite some successes, the Nigerian armed forces remain a long way from defeating Boko Haram
The death toll continues to mount and other countries in the region are increasingly affected by the violence
There is still public confusion around the health of General Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA).
General Haftar remains in Paris, where he is receiving medical care for an undisclosed condition, with speculation ranging from a stroke to cancer.
Since 2016, there have been more than 230 terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso, which threatens to destabilize the landlocked West African nation.
In the north of the country, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Islamic State in Greater Sahara both pose growing security threats.
Burkina Faso experienced its second military coup in nine months, with both junta leaders promising to combat jihadists more effectively but neither presenting a coherent strategy for achieving this objective.
Russia is actively seeking political influence in the Sahel through ostensible support for counter-insurgency efforts amid the drawdown of the longstanding French counterterrorism forces in that region.
Russian has capitalized on cold U.S. relationships with Sahelian states that are confronting challenges in democratic governance in its attempt to create a new Russian-led security order in the region.
Somalis arrive in Ethiopia from disputed town of Las Anod, where at least 82 people have died in fighting
More than 60,000 Somali refugees have fled to Ethiopia after an escalation in fighting in the town of Las Anod, in the Sool region, where tensions between local people and the governing Somaliland authorities have been building for weeks.
The incident took place that morning near the village of Songobia, in central Mali, as their supply convoy was heading to its base in Sévaré.
El-Ghassim Wane, the head of MINUSMA, condemned the attack and offered his deepest condolences to the families and colleagues of the deceased peacekeepers.
On February 9, 2023, around 100 armed men drove to Dembo, Burkina Faso, on motorcycles and in pickup trucks. They opened fire on a militia group called Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), which works with the Burkinabé military to protect the areas of northwest Burkina Faso near its border with Mali. These men killed seven members of the VDP. Three days later, on February 12, at the other end of Burkina Faso near the border with Ghana and Togo, armed men entered Yargatenga and killed 12 people, including two VDP fighters. Meanwhile, in another incident that took place from February 9 night until the next day—further north of Burkina Faso near the border with Mali—men on motorcycles arrived at the Sanakadougou village and killed 12 people, burning homes, and looting “the few goods and livestock of the villagers,” reported a survivor to Agence France-Presse. These are not isolated incidents. They have become commonplace in Burkina Faso, where about 40 percent of the country is now largely controlled by a wide range of armed groups who began to target the Sahel after 2012.