An armed group linked to al-Qaeda, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for what it says was an attack that killed up to 200 people and injured at least 140 in central Burkina Faso. The attack took place on Saturday in the region of Barsalogho, about 40km (25 miles) north of the strategic town of Kaya, which analysts said is home to the last standing force protecting the capital, Ouagadougou. Fighters opened fire on teams of people digging trenches designed to protect security outposts. Several soldiers were missing after the attack, and the attackers took weapons and a military ambulance. Al Jazeera’s Nicholas Haque Reporting from Dakar, Senegal. […]
Burkina Faso’s army has announced it has deposed President Roch Kabore, dissolved the government and the national assembly, and suspended the constitution, seizing control of the country after two days of unrest at army camps in the capital. The announcement, signed on Monday by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba and read by another officer on state television, said the takeover had been carried out without violence and those detained were in a secure location. The country’s borders have also been closed, it added. Before the army statement, the African Union and the West African bloc ECOWAS both condemned what they called an attempted coup, saying they held the military responsible […]
A trial has begun in Burkina Faso for 14 people accused of involvement in the assassination of former President Thomas Sankara. Sankara came to power in 1983 and was shot dead four years later. He was a revolutionary leader who had called on African countries to default on unfair international debt. Among the suspects is former President Blaise Compaore. Compaore was deposed in 2014 following a popular uprising that brought an end to his 27-year rule. He lives in exile in neighbouring Ivory Coast and has refused to take part in the trial. His supporters see it as a political witch-hunt. Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reports. – Follow us on […]
