Terrorism spares no one says Burkina government after deadly attacks msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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DJIBO, Burkina Faso
In early October, Abu Sharawi got a call from his commander to lay down his gun. He had been fighting for more than three years with a jihadist group in Burkina Faso’s northern Sahel region but was told an agreement had been reached with the government to stop the attacks, which have killed thousands of people and driven more than one million from their homes.
“[They said] ‘We decided to stop fighting. It’s time to sit and discuss. Many people have died, and animals and resources were lost. Using guns will not solve the problems’,” recalled 28-year-old Sharawi.
February 2021
Criminal groups abducted hundreds in north west, while ethnic and regional tensions ran high in south amid farmer-herder conflict; meanwhile, tensions rose in south east between govt and Biafra secessionists. Criminal groups in Feb reportedly killed at least 112 and kidnapped over 450 people, mostly in Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto and Zamfara states (north west), but also in Niger state (Middle Belt). Notably, armed group 17 Feb abducted 42 students and school personnel in Niger state, released them 27 Feb; 26 Feb kidnapped 279 girls in Zamfara state. Meanwhile, Auwalun Daudawa, who masterminded Dec 2020 abduction of 344 students in Katsina state, 8 Feb laid down arms along with five of his troops. Amid rise in herder-farmer and intercommunal violence in south since Jan, clashes between ethnic Hausa and Fulani on one hand, and ethnic Yoruba on the other, early Feb killed two dozen people in Oyo state capital Ibadan (south west). Nobel laureate in literature Wole Soyinka 6 F
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File photo of French armored vehicles: French Ministry of Defense
A suicide car bomber attacked a French vehicle convoy in Mali and wounded six French troops. This is the third attack on French troops in the past few weeks. Two previous attacks had resulted in five troops killed and more wounded.
The French Defense Ministry released a statement saying that a joint French and Malian military convoy was traveling in armored fighting vehicles near Gouma early on Friday when a vehicle approached at high speed. This area is where the borders of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso meet.