Burkina Faso

Latest Stories

FILE - An unidentified representative of the junta waves from a military vehicle as Malians supporting the recent overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita gathers to celebrate in the capital Bamako, Mali, on Aug. 21, 2020. The coup-hit nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso were meeting on Saturday, July 6, 2024 in their first regional summit that officially sets them apart from the West Africa regional bloc after earlier announcing they were leaving the bloc. (AP Photo/File)

The hidden hand behind the ISIS/Al Qaeda takeover of a vast stretch of Africa

By Jeff King and International Christian Concern – Special to Higher Ground

A soldier applauds the presidential inauguration of Junta leader Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba during his swearing-in ceremony broadcast on national television on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a report by Human Rights Watch on the mass killing of civilians carried out by the country's armed forces. According to the report published by Human Rights Watch on Thursday, April 25, 2024, the army killed some 223 civilians, including 56 children, in villages accused of cooperating with militants. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)

BBC and Voice of America suspended by Burkina Faso after covering report on mass killings

By Jessica Donati - Associated Press

FILE - A mural is seen in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Wednesday March 1, 2023. Three survivors of an attack in Zaongo, central Burkina Faso, told AP that dozens of people were killed in their village on Nov. 5 when security forces attacked. One of the survivors, a 32-year-old farmer, said he photographed the horrific scenes of bodies as proof of the carnage before fleeing. (AP Photo, File)

Burkina Faso’s security forces are killing more civilians. Survivors detailed 1 village’s massacre

By Sam Mednick and Michael Biesecker - Associated Press

In this image taken from video provided by ORTN, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, front center, makes a statement on July 26, 2023, in Niamey, Niger, as a delegation of military officers appeared on Niger State TV to read out a series of communiques announcing their coup d'etat. The U.S. is scrambling to assess the future of its counterterrorism operations in the Sahel region of Africa after the ruling junta in Niger announced it was ending military cooperation with Washington. (ORTN via AP, File)

Attack on Nigerien forces kills 23 soldiers and underscores continued conflict with militants

Associated Press

Algeria's Baghdad Bounedjah, right, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the African Cup of Nations Group D soccer match between Algeria and Burkina Faso at the Peace of Bouake stadium in Bouake, Ivory Coast, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Bounedjah scores late for Algeria to draw with Burkina Faso 2-2 at Africa Cup

Associated Press

Daouda Diallo, one of Burkina Faso's most prominent human rights defenders poses for a photograph, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Thursday Feb. 3, 2022. Daouda Diallo — who won the Martin Ennals awards for human rights in 2022 — was taken to an unknown location by men who accosted him in the nation's capital city on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023 the local civic group which Diallo founded said in a statement. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)

Burkina Faso rights defender abducted as concerns grow over alleged clampdown on dissent

By Chinedu Asadu - Associated Press

An aerial view shows a camp of internally displaced people in Djibo, Burkina Faso, May 26, 2022. Videos published by the state-run RTB Television on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, showed large groups of people riding motorcycles around a swathe of desert land as they appeared to be running from aerial bombardments. It was not immediately clear the number of civilians and security forces killed during the Sunday attack near Mali's border and involving about 3,000 rebels, according to the broadcaster. The Associated Press could not confirm the authenticity of the videos. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

At least 40 civilians killed by al Qaeda-linked rebels in a Burkina Faso town, U.N. says

By Chinedu Asadu - Associated Press

An aerial view shows a camp of internally displaced people in Djibo, Burkina Faso, May 26, 2022. Videos published by the state-run RTB Television on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, showed large groups of people riding motorcycles around a swathe of desert land as they appeared to be running from aerial bombardments. It was not immediately clear the number of civilians and security forces killed during the Sunday attack near Mali's border and involving about 3,000 rebels, according to the broadcaster. The Associated Press could not confirm the authenticity of the videos. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Burkina Faso’s state media says hundreds of rebels have been killed trying to seize vulnerable town

By Chinedu Asadu - Associated Press

With the headquarters of the ruling party burning in the back, supporters of mutinous soldiers demonstrate in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, July 27 2023. Not everyone is hostile to last week's coup in Niger. Neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali have taken the unusual step of declaring that foreign military intervention in Niger would be a declaration of war against them, too. Both have had coups in recent years. (AP Photo/Fatahoulaye Hassane Midou)

Some of Niger’s neighbors defend the coup there, even hinting at war. It’s a warning for Africa

By Cara Anna - Associated Press

Boubacar Moussa, a former member of the Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin group, linked to al-Qaida, poses for a photo in Niamey, Niger, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. The 47-year-old says Niger's coup will embolden violence, increase recruitment across the country and threaten regional stability. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

The coup in Niger will only embolden extremists, says a former jihadi fighter

By Sam Mednick - Associated Press

FILE - Supporters of Capt. Ibrahim Traore parade wave a Russian flag in the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Oct. 2, 2022. Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo, during his visit to the United States where he's attending the U.S.-Africa summit, claimed Burkina Faso had allegedly made an agreement with Russia's shadowy mercenary outfit the Wagner Group to bolster the country's security amid surging jihadi violence, in exchange for a mine. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)

Ghana forcibly deports hundreds of people who had fled extremist violence in Burkina Faso, says U.N.

By Francis Kokutse and Zane Irwin - Associated Press

An aerial view shows a camp of internally displaced people in Djibo, Burkina Faso, May 26, 2022. Burkina Faso's government says more than 2 million people have become internally displaced, fueling a dire humanitarian crisis across the conflict-ridden country. The number of displaced people has mushroomed by more than 2,000% since 2019, when violence linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group began surging and spreading across the West African nation. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

More than 2 million people displaced, Burkina Faso’s government says, as aid falls short

By Sam Mednick - Associated Press

Supporters of Capt. Ibrahim Traore parade wave a Russian flag in the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Oct. 2, 2022. Just weeks after Burkina Faso's junta ousted hundreds of French troops, there are signs that the West African country could be moving even closer to Russia, including the mercenary outfit, the Wagner Group. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)

After Burkina Faso ousts French, Russia’s Wagner may arrive

By Sam Mednick - Associated Press

Supporters of Capt. Ibrahim Traore protest against France and the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS in the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. France's foreign ministry said Wednesday Jan.25, 2023 French troops in Burkina Faso will withdraw from the country within a month, after the junta government required such move _ following in the path of neighboring Mali. A top official at the foreign ministry said France has formally received from Burkina Faso a decision to terminate the 2018 agreement that was related to the presence of French troops in the country. (AP Photo/Kilaye Bationo, File)

France recalls ambassador to Burkina Faso, pulls out troops

By Sylvie Corbet - Associated Press

FILE - Internally displaced people wait for aid in Djibo, Burkina Faso, on May 26, 2022. More than 25,000 people will face starvation in conflict-plagued parts of West Africa next year, a United Nations official warned Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. Populations in Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso will be in phase five catastrophic hunger by June driven largely by violence as well as economic impacts from the fallout of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, said the United Nations Friday. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

UN: Thousands in West, Central Africa could face starvation

By Sam Mednick - Associated Press

In this image from video broadcast by RTB state television, coup spokesman Capt. Kiswendsida Farouk Azaria Sorgho reads a statement in a studio in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, on Friday evening, Sept. 30, 2022. Members of Burkina Faso's army seized control of state television late Friday, declaring that the country's coup leader-turned-president, Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, had been overthrown after only nine months in power. The statement announced that Capt. Ibrahim Traore is the new military leader of Burkina Faso, a volatile West African country that is battling a mounting Islamic insurgency. (RTB via AP)

Protesters attack French Embassy in Burkina Faso after coup

By Sam Mednick and Arsene Kabore - Associated Press

A mutinous soldier fires into the air at the Bobo interchange, near the Lamizana camp in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. Witnesses are reporting heavy gunfire at a military base raising fears that a coup attempt is underway. Government spokesman Alkassoum Maiga acknowledged the gunfire but denied that the military had taken over the West African country. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia)

Mutinous soldiers say they detained Burkina Faso’s president

By Sam Mednick - Associated Press

In this Feb. 13, 2012, file photo, an armed member of the militant group al-Shabab attends a rally on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP Photo, File) **FILE**

‘Wildfire of terrorism’ threatens to overtake African region as U.S., allies pull back

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Doctors caring with COVID-19 patients ferry medical equipment, at the Farcha provincial hospital in N'Djamena, Chad, Friday April 30, 2021. While the world's wealthier nations have stockpiled coronavirus vaccines for their citizens, many poorer countries are scrambling to secure enough doses, and some, like Chad, have yet to receive any. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Vaccine deserts: Some countries have no COVID-19 jabs at all

By KRISTA LARSON - Associated Press

Two soldiers stand in the Catholic church at the 10th RCAS army barracks in Kaya, Burkina Faso, Saturday, April 10, 2021. Once considered a beacon of peace and religious coexistence in the region, the West African nation has been embroiled in unprecedented violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State since 2016, throwing an ill-equipped and undertrained army into disarray — and overwhelming the chaplains tasked with supporting them. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia)

Burkina Faso’s army chaplains tested by extremist conflict

By SAM MEDNICK - Associated Press