An attack that reportedly killed over 100 soldiers on an army base in Burkina Faso has snowballed into speculation about unrest in the security forces, in a country where the military has been in power since 2022. The junta has not commented on the attack but has denied that there was a mutiny. Burkina Faso […]
Tag: Burkina
Burkina Faso extends military rule by five years
Burkina Faso’s military government has announced it will extend its rule for another five years. The country’s ruler, Capt Ibrahim TraorĂ©, will also be able to contest the next presidential election, the state-owned broadcaster says. When he seized power in a coup nearly two years ago, Capt Traore pledged to restore the civilian government by […]
Burkina Faso bans more foreign media over Human Rights Watch massacre report
Burkina Faso has suspended yet more foreign media outlets over their coverage of a report accusing its army of killing 223 civilians. The report, by US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said it believed the the massacre in February was in retaliation for villagers aiding armed Islamists. The West African nation’s military government has denied the […]
Burkina Faso rejects ‘baseless accusations’ that soldiers massacred 223 villagers
Burkina Faso has rejected “baseless accusations” that soldiers massacred 223 people in attacks in February. A Human Rights Watch report alleged the army killed 179 people in Soro village and 44 others in Nondin, at least 56 of who were children, on 25 February. The NGO said this was “among the worst army abuse” incidents […]
Burkina Faso suspends BBC over HRW report on alleged mass killings
Burkina Faso has suspended the BBC and US public broadcaster Voice of America over their coverage of a report accusing its army of mass killings. Broadcasts have been stopped and the websites of both organisations banned for two weeks, officials said. The report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based group, accused the Burkinabè military […]
Burkina Faso army massacred 223 villagers in revenge attack
More than 220 civilians, including at least 56 children, were massacred by Burkina Faso’s military in a single day this year, Human Rights Watch says. In the attacks on 25 February, the army killed 179 people in Soro village and 44 others in the nearby Nondin village, an HRW investigation found. HRW termed the mass […]
Burkina Faso’s pro-Russia junta expels French diplomats
Burkina Faso’s military junta has expelled three French diplomats, accusing them of “subversive activities”. France said there were “no grounds” to expel the diplomats. The expulsions are the latest sign of worsening relations between the two nations since Captain Ibrahim TraorĂ© seized power in a coup in 2022. He has pivoted Burkina Faso towards Russia, […]
Survivors detail massacre ‘by security forces’ in Burkina Faso village
A farmer has documented a massacre which took place in a Burkina Faso village. The 32-year-old took a series of photos in the central village in Namentenga province after security forces launched an attack on November 5 last year, killing more than a dozen of his relatives. The images the anonymous man took showed women […]
Juntas ruling Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create joint security force
A joint security force announced by the juntas ruling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to fight the worsening extremist violence in their Sahel region countries faces a number of challenges that cast doubt on its effectiveness, analysts have said. Niger’s top military chief, Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou said in a statement after meeting with […]
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to form joint force to fight jihadists
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso say they will form a joint force to fight jihadist threats in their countries. Niger’s army chief Moussa Salaou Barmou announced it would be operational as soon as possible, without giving details of its size. He spoke in a televised speech on Wednesday following talks in the capital Niamey. Groups […]
Burkina Faso Accounted for One in Four Terrorism Deaths in 2023
(Bloomberg) — Burkina Faso, which has been ruled by a military junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traore for the past 18 months, accounted for almost a quarter of people killed in terrorist attacks globally last year. Most Read from Bloomberg Fatalities rose to 1,907 in 2023, from 1,135 a year earlier, despite a decline in […]
Burkina Faso says 170 dead in village ‘executions’
Some 170 people including women and children have been “executed” in attacks on three villages in Burkina Faso, a public prosecutor has said. Aly Benjamin Coulibaly appealed for witnesses to help find those who attacked Komsilga, Nordin and Soro. Separately, army chiefs warned of the increased risk of attacks by militants, “including attacks on urban […]