https://www.nytimes.com/2021/0...ts-burkina-faso.html


https://www.reuters.com/world/...-sources-2021-04-26/


Mike

Guess I won't ever be able to hunt there. Had wanted to, but I'm running out of time.

Terrible and horrible news.

The sad thing is that the death of these two journalists is getting, or will get, more attention than the 4,250 or so I believe the article said that had been already killed. Action may occur now.

However, I’m afraid the current leader of the US may just send more of our tax dollars to the wrong people to use in the wrong way.

I hope our fellow AR members and others stay safe out there.

Oh, let’s not forget the other atrocities going on in RSA, but those are probably labeled as “peaceful protests” as they are here, while not quite as extreme here.

Pretty hot in Mozambique as well.

I loved my safari there and I hope to return one day. The issue is that the US has virtually no strategic concerns in Burkina Faso and 99% of Americans couldn't find it on a map. I doubt we're going to have a large scale troop presence there.

Fulvio,

You're totally right about Moz. It's off my list for the time being.

It has been my understanding that Cabo Delgado is the only province in Mozambique with ISIS problems. Has something changed?

If not then the vast majority of the country is perfectly fine to hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by AilsaWheels:
It has been my understanding that Cabo Delgado is the only province in Mozambique with ISIS problems. Has something changed?

If not then the vast majority of the country is perfectly fine to hunt.

Correct

Send in the Legion

quote:

Originally posted by gunslinger55:
Send in the Legion

+1

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily...-spanish-journalists


CPJ Urges Burkina Faso to Investigate Killing of Spanish Journalists

Print articlePublished: Friday, 30 April 2021 17:23
WRITTEN BY JULETT PINEDA SLEINAN

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged the government of Burkina Faso to conduct a thorough investigation into the killing of two Spanish reporters who were ambushed by jihadists while working on a documentary on anti-poaching.


Officials in Spain and Burkina Faso confirmed on Wednesday the murder of reporter David Beriáin, 44, photographer Roberto Fraile, 47, and Irish wildlife campaigner Rory Young, 54. The three were working on a documentary about poachers in a national park and Burkina Faso’s efforts to tackle illegal hunting.

The men were traveling with an anti-poaching patrol protected by Burkinabe security officials, and although 40 people were in the convoy, attackers outnumbered them.

A jihadist group known as JNIM, with links to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack in an audio recording, mentioning the killing of three white men. Two Burkinabe soldiers were injured in the attack.

“Authorities in Burkina Faso must thoroughly and transparently investigate the killings of journalists David Beriáin and Roberto Fraile and ensure that those responsible are found and brought to justice,” said CPJ’s African program coordinator Angela Quintal on Wednesday in a statement.

“Too often journalists are killed with impunity; authorities must ensure that does not happen in this case,” Quintal added.

Although the JNIM claimed responsibility, Spanish foreign affairs minister, Arancha González Laya, said “that is not enough,” and asked the Burkinabe government to investigate and identify the individuals involved in the attack.

“We want clarification,” she demanded.

Islamist armed groups have been previously implicated in other attacks on convoys across Burkina Faso. In May last year, they targeted convoys transporting traded goods and food aid, with the two events resulting in the deaths of at least nine civilians. Government troops heavily escorted the vehicles at the time of the attacks.

In 2020 alone, armed group attacks led 450,000 people to flee their homes. More than a million people have been internally displaced since 2016 when the conflict began.

https://www.usnews.com/news/wo...ilians-die-in-attack



Burkina Faso Says at Least 100 Civilians Killed in Attack

Burkina Faso's government says gunmen killed at least 100 civilians in a village in the north Sahel region.

By Associated Press
|
June 5, 2021, at 9:47 a.m.

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U.S. News & World Report
Burkina Faso Says at Least 100 Civilians Killed in Attack

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By SAM MEDNICK, Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Gunmen killed at least 100 people in a northern Burkina Faso village, the government said Saturday, in what was the country’s deadliest attack in years.


The attack took place Friday evening in Solhan village, in the Sahel’s Yagha province, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement blaming jihadists. The local market and several homes were also burned down in the area toward the border of Niger, he said.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore called the attack “barbaric.”

This is the deadliest attack recorded in Burkina Faso since the West African country was overrun by jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State about five years ago, said Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.


“It is clear that militant groups have shifted up gears to aggravate the situation in Burkina Faso, and moved their efforts to areas outside the immediate reach of the French-led counter-terrorism coalition fighting them in the tri-state border region,” he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Despite the presence of more than 5,000 French troops in the Sahel, jihadist violence is increasing. In one week in April, more than 50 people were killed in Burkina Faso, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist. More than 1 million people in the country have been internally displaced.

A local who did not want to be named, fearing for his safety, was visiting relatives in a medical clinic in Sebba town, approximately 12 kilometers from where the attacks occurred. He said he saw many wounded people enter the clinic.

“I saw 12 people in one room and about 10 in another. There were many relatives caring for the wounded. There were also many people running from Solhan to enter Sebba....People are very afraid and worried,” he told the Associated Press by phone.

The government has declared 72 hours of mourning.

Islamic extremists have been increasingly staging assaults in Burkina Faso, especially in the region that borders Niger and Mali.

Last month, gunmen killed at least 30 people in eastern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger.

Burkina Faso’s ill-equipped army has been struggling to contain the spread of jihadists. The government enlisted the help of volunteer fighters last year to help the army, but the volunteers have incurred retaliation by extremists who target them and the communities they help.

Mali also is experiencing a political crisis that has led to the suspension of international support. France has said it is ceasing joint military operations with Malian forces until the West African nation’s junta complies with international demands to restore civilian rule.