Burkina Faso
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May- 2020 -20 MayAfrica
Two Soldiers, Five Volunteers Killed in Burkina Attack
Two Burkina Faso soldiers and five civilian defense volunteers have been killed during an ambush on a military patrol in the restive north of the country, security sources said Tuesday. The attack occurred on Monday as soldiers from the military detachment in Banh in Loroum province were carrying out a patrol in the area, the sources said. “Two soldiers were killed along with five civilians,” a security source told AFP. Another security source said the civilian casualties were “defense volunteers who were with the military unit during the patrol,” adding two soldiers also died. The source said four others in the patrol were wounded, without giving further details. Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist alliance GSIM claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming to have killed “nine soldiers” in an ambush and taken weapons and vehicles, in a text sent to AFP late Tuesday. The Mali-based GSIM (Group to Support Islam and Muslims) comprises several different jihadist groups in the Sahel. On May 11, jihadists killed eight Burkinabe soldiers during an attack close to the Niger border in Yagha province, security sources said at the time. Burkina Faso is part of a regional effort to battle an Islamist insurgency, along with neighboring Mali and Niger, Mauritania and Chad. However, …
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Apr- 2020 -20 AprilAfrica
Burkina Faso security forces accused of executing 31 detainees in Djibo
Burkina Faso's security forces allegedly executed 31 unarmed detainees in the northern town of Djibo, Human Rights Watch said
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Mar- 2020 -14 MarchAfrica
UN Mali peacekeepers find Canadian and Italian kidnapped in Burkina Faso in 2018
A Canadian woman and her Italian partner kidnapped in Burkina Faso in 2018 were found alive in the northwest of Mali by UN Minusma peacekeepers
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Feb- 2020 -12 FebruaryAfrica
AFRICOM shifts strategy from degrading to containing West Africa insurgents, OIG report says
United States Africa Command has shifted its strategy from degrading violent extremist organizations in West Africa to simply containing their spread
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8 FebruaryAfrica
French operations in Mali put 30 militants ‘out of action,’ as Barkhane builds Sahel Coalition coordination
French military operations against Islamic State and al-Qaeda groups in Mali put 30 militants "out of action" as Barkhane builds Sahel Coalition mechanisms
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2 FebruaryAfrica
France boosts Barkhane force to 5,100 troops to further focus on Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border area
France is to boost the number of troops deployed to its Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism mission in the Sahel to 5,100
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Jan- 2020 -28 JanuaryAfrica
Esper: Europe should ‘offset’ changes in US support for France’s West Africa mission
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Europe could 'offset any changes' in future support for France's counter-terror mission in Africa's Sahel region
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22 JanuaryAfrica
Sahel: France to further strengthen Barkhane, Takuba ‘fully operational by autumn’
France will further bolster its Operation Barkhane force in the Sahel, and the new Task Force Takuba will deploy in the summer, Lecointre says
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22 JanuaryAfrica
Burkina Faso to recruit and arm volunteers to protect communities from militants
Burkina Faso's parliament adopted a law allowing for the recruitment of local volunteers who will act as auxiliaries in the fight against militants
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20 JanuaryAfrica
Chad plans military deployment to Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border area
French and Swedish defense ministers discussed Chad plans to deploy military personnel to the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border area
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