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Ed Webb

Twenty-nine killed in two attacks in Burkina Faso | News | Al Jazeera - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...kina-faso-190908235141555.html

Sahel Africa BurkinaFaso militants violence terrorism security

shared by Ed Webb on 09 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • At least 29 people were killed in two separate incidents in Burkina Faso's troubled north on Sunday after a food convoy and a transport truck were attacked
  • A former French colony that ranks among the world's poorest countries, Burkina Faso has been struggling with an Islamist militant revolt since 2015. The West African country's army has been increasingly targeted by jihadists. Earlier this month, an attack on a military base in northern Burkina Faso killed 24 soldiers.
  • A summit of regional heads of state is due to be held in Ouagadougou on Saturday to discuss the security situation.
Ed Webb

ISIL is not dead, it just moved to Africa | Africa | Al Jazeera - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...ed-africa-191126152156781.html

ISIS terrorism Sahel BurkinaFaso Mali Niger G5 resources instability

shared by Ed Webb on 28 Nov 19 - No Cached
  • Despite the collapse of its so-called "caliphate" in the Middle East, and the killing of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria, however, ISIL remains a growing and evolving threat in other parts of the world, especially in Africa's restive Sahel region. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), the prodigy of ISIL there, is going from strength to strength, bolstering its membership and carrying out attacks.
  • Most of the states that have territory in the Sahel are grappling with the destructive effects of climate change, poverty, food shortages, ethnic conflicts and lack of effective democratic governance. There is little opportunity for the people in the region to receive an education and find work that would allow them to sustain their families. Moreover, they live in fear of being attacked by one of the numerous local armed groups that are active there. This is causing many to embark on perilous journeys across the Mediterranean to reach Europe's shores and seek sanctuary there. All this creates an ample opportunity for terror groups like ISIL to expand their influence over the region.
  • Burkina Faso is now stuck in a vicious cycle where the problems that allowed armed groups like ISIL to infiltrate the country are being exacerbated by their presence, while the resulting desperation is causing more people to join them.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • ISIL and al-Qaeda's interest in Sahel's goldmines has long been known. According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), a non-governmental organisation, terror groups have been seizing gold mines in the region and using them to finance their operations since 2016. The ICG says armed groups are also using their control over gold mines as a way to recruit more local people to their cause. 
  • Mali, too, has long suffered insecurity which has allowed the country to become a playground for groups like ISIL and al-Qaeda. Earlier this month at least 53 soldiers and a civilian were killed in an ISIL attack on a military post in northeast Mali. The attack came a month after two similar attacks killed at least 40 soldiers near the country's border with Burkina Faso. 
  • As world leaders pat themselves on the back for "destroying ISIL" in Syria, the group is openly building up its strength in Africa. 
  • If effective measures that address not only the ongoing insurgency but the core problems that allowed it to prosper in the region are not implemented right away, the destruction and suffering caused by ISIL in Syria and Iraq will be repeated in the Sahel. More and more people will try to escape their predicament by embarking on deadly journeys towards Europe. A few will make it there, while tens of thousands of others will either die horrible deaths at sea or languish in outrageous refugee camps in Africa.
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