Burkina Faso

18 Stories

6 African Nations Now Form a Continent-Wide 'Coup Belt'

From Sudan in the east to Guinea in the west

(Newser) - Take a map of Africa, shade in the nations that have had military coups over the last few years, and you'll see the pattern: It's what Declan Walsh in the New York Times calls a "coup belt" stretching across the entire continent. It goes from Guinea on...

Militants Free Doctor, 88, After More Than 7 Years

Australian doctor was kidnapped in Burkina Faso in early 2016

(Newser) - An Australian doctor has been reunited with his family more than seven years after he was kidnapped by an al-Qaeda offshoot in West Africa. Kenneth Elliott, 88, flew into Perth on Thursday and was reunited with wife Jocelyn and their children, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports. Jocelyn Elliott was also...

It's Coup Part II for Burkina Faso
It's Coup Part II
for Burkina Faso
Oct 1, 2022 9:30 AM CDT

It's Coup Part II for Burkina Faso

Paul-Henri Damiba, who ousted the ex-president in January, has himself been ousted by soldiers

(Newser) - In January, Paul-Henri Damiba led a military coup that ousted Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore, citing widespread discontent at Kabore's inability to quell relentless attacks by Islamic groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State that have killed thousands. Now, it appears Damiba, who took over as the West Africa...

Nun's 'Peaceful Patience' Helped Her Survive Kidnapping

Sister Suellen Tennyson, who lost 20 pounds in captivity, was held for 5 months in Burkina Faso

(Newser) - Sister Suellen Tennyson sat amazed as one of her captors began washing her feet. "I was just taken aback," the 83-year-old Roman Catholic nun and former international leader of the Marianites of Holy Cross tells the Clarion Herald from a safe haven in the Archdiocese of New Orleans,...

Soldiers Arrest President in West African Coup

Junta says it now controls Burkina Faso

(Newser) - More than a dozen mutinous soldiers declared Monday on state television that a military junta now controls Burkina Faso after they detained the democratically elected president following a day of gun battles in the capital. Capt. Sidsore Kaber Ouedraogo said the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration would work to...

Trial Begins in Killing of 'Africa's Che Guevara'

Burkina Faso leader Thomas Sankara was assassinated in 1987

(Newser) - In Burkina Faso, more than a dozen people went on trial Monday accused of involvement in the assassination of the leftist leader who gave the West African country its name. Thomas Sankara, often called "Africa's Che Guevara," changed the country's name from Upper Volta as part...

2019 Was a Bad Year for One Kind of Killing

From Burkina Faso to California, houses of worship came under deadly fire

(Newser) - On Dec. 1, a band of assailants opened fire on worshippers at a small-town Protestant church in Burkina Faso, an impoverished West African country where the Christian minority is increasingly a target of attacks. The victims included the pastor and several teenage boys; regional authorities attributed the attack to “...

French Soldiers Killed Rescuing American Hostage

3 other foreign hostages also rescued in Burkina Faso

(Newser) - An American woman is among four hostages freed by French soldiers during a raid in the African nation of Burkina Faso. Two French soldiers were killed in the overnight raid, which was supported by US intelligence, reports Reuters . Not much is known about the US woman, including her identity, who...

Pair Traveling in Burkina Faso Disappears

Edith Blais, Luca Tacchetto have not been heard from in weeks

(Newser) - It was Edith Blais' "lifelong dream" to travel to Africa, her mother tells the CBC . But after the 34-year-old Quebec woman achieved that dream last year, she disappeared—she and her companion, 30-year-old Italian man Luca Tacchetto, have not been heard from since Dec. 15. They were in Burkina...

18 Killed in Extremist Attack on Burkina Faso Restaurant

Armed attackers arrived on motorcycles

(Newser) - Suspected Islamic extremists opened fire at a Turkish restaurant in the capital of Burkina Faso late Sunday, killing at least 18 people in the second such attack on a restaurant popular with foreigners in the last two years. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence, which continued...

France Kills 20 Insurgents in Remote African Region

French forces strike forest near Mali border

(Newser) - French forces fighting extremism in Africa's Sahel region say they have killed at least 20 jihadists in a forest on the border between Mali and Burkina Faso. A statement Sunday from Operation Barkhane says soldiers also discovered large amounts of arms, ammunition, rocket launchers, and explosives in the area....

At Least 23 Dead in Burkina Faso Hotel Attack

Officials say attackers dead, hostages freed

(Newser) - Burkina Faso and French forces killed a fourth extremist Saturday after freeing 126 people and killing three other attackers to end the seizure of a luxury hotel by al-Qaeda-linked militants, officials said. In addition to the extremists, at least 23 people were killed in the attack at the Splendid Hotel...

Burkina Faso Erupts Over President's 27-Year Rule

Autocratic leader vows to stay on for another year

(Newser) - After 27 years under the autocratic rule of President Blaise Compaoré, protesters in Burkina Faso have signaled their desire for change by storming the country's Parliament and other government buildings and setting them ablaze. Violence erupted yesterday as lawmakers were set to vote on a bill that would have...

France Sends Troops to Guard Mali Crash Site
 No Survivors in Mali Crash 
Jul 25, 2014 7:49 AM CDT

No Survivors in Mali Crash

French troops locate one black box after plane goes down

(Newser) - French officials have sent troops to secure the site in northern Mali where an Air Algerie plane crashed yesterday, but expect no miracles: "Sadly, there is no survivor," French President Francois Hollande said today, reports the Guardian . He also said that one black box had been recovered and...

Air Algerie Plane Has Crashed: Official

Flight AH5017 went missing over Mali with 116 aboard

(Newser) - A flight operated by Air Algerie and carrying 116 people from Burkina Faso to Algeria's capital disappeared from radar early today, and an Algerian aviation official now tells Reuters the plane has crashed, though no further details were given. Air navigation services lost track of the Swiftair MD-83 about...

African Troops Join Battle for Mali

11 civilians dead in first days of fighting

(Newser) - The first days of the battle against Islamic extremists holding Mali's north have left at least 11 civilians dead, including three children who threw themselves into a river and drowned trying to avoid falling bombs, a presidential spokesman said today as troops from Mali's neighbors are expected to...

Victoria's Secret Buys From Child Labor Sources: Report

Kids pick cotton at West Africa farms

(Newser) - Victoria's Secret says it's rushing to investigate claims that it buys supplies from farms that use child labor. A Bloomberg report today described a 13-year-old girl in the West African country of Burkina Faso who faces beatings at the farm where she picks cotton. That cotton is ultimately...

African Women Take Brunt of Food Crisis

As prices soar, mothers feed the men and eat what remains

(Newser) - As food and fuel prices continue to climb, impoverished families across Africa are hurting worse than ever—and women are suffering the most. The Washington Post follows one Burkina Faso mother in her daily struggle to feed her family and survive in a culture that puts her last at mealtime....

18 Stories