Somalia says its army, allied militias repel al Shabaab attacks, kill more than 130
Mogadishu, Somalia Reuters Somalia said on Thursday its army and allied clan militias have fought off coordinated raids on villages by the Islamist al-Shabaab armed group in the country’s south, killing more than 130 attackers. The al Qaeda-linked militant group has conducted a bloody insurgency in southern and central Somalia since 2007, killing thousands of […]
Postcards: Military overtones vibrate through renowned Mali arts festival
PORTIA CROWE, of Reuters, reports from the Festival sur le Niger in Segou in Mali…
At least seven Russian mercenaries killed in Mali attack
Bamako, Mali Reuters At least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor group were killed in an attack in central Mali that was claimed by an affiliate of al-Qaeda in North Africa, Site Intelligence group said Friday. Wagner previously suffered heavy losses in a July battle with predominantly Tuareg rebels and Islamists near Mali’s […]
Islamist groups escalate retaliatory attacks on Burkina Faso civilians, HRW says
Dakar, Senegal Reuters Jihadist groups in Burkina Faso have escalated attacks on civilians, often in retaliation against communities for refusing to join their ranks or allegedly collaborating with government troops, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. The junta-led West African nation has been grappling with Islamist insurgents, some with links to al-Qaeda and Islamic State, […]
Mali says attack repelled in capital; al-Qaeda affiliate claims responsibility
Bamako, Mali Reuters Mali said on Tuesday that its capital Bamako was under control after insurgents attacked a gendarmerie training school and other strategic areas before dawn, firing gunshots that reverberated around the city. Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack. A general view of the city of Bamako […]
Suspected Boko Haram militants kill at least 37 in Nigeria attack
Maiduguri, Nigeria Reuters Suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants roared into a north-eastern Nigerian village on motorcycles, opened fire on a market and set shops and homes ablaze, killing at least 37 people, according to a military official. Residents said the death toll could be even higher, with villagers still missing and feared dead after fighters […]
“I saw horrible things”: Burkina Faso massacre survivor describes bloodshed in trenches
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Reuters A woman who survived the massacre of hundreds of villagers in central Burkina Faso described the horror of searching through bodies to find her brothers, in an interview following the attack claimed by an Al-Qaeda-linked group earlier this week. “We went out with carts to collect the bodies of my older […]
Al Qaeda branch says it killed 300 fighters, not civilians, in Burkina Faso attack
Reuters An al Qaeda-linked group said it killed nearly 300 people in Saturday’s devastating attack in north-central Burkina Faso, but said it targeted militia members linked to the army, not civilians, the US consultancy Site Intelligence Group reported. The attack outside the town of Barsalogho was one of the deadliest in nearly a decade of […]
Suspected jihadists kill hundreds in Burkina Faso attack
Dakar, Senegal Reuters Hundreds were killed in north-central Burkina Faso on Saturday after suspected jihadists opened fire on them as they were digging trenches around a town to protect it from attacks, victims’ relatives and a source who spoke to wounded survivors said. The attack outside the town of Barsalogho is one of the deadliest […]
Nigeria courts convict 125 Boko Haram Islamist insurgents in mass trial
Abuja, Nigeria Reuters Nigerian courts convicted 125 Boko Haram Islamist militants and financiers of a series of terrorism-related offences in a mass trial this week, the attorney-general’s office said. A Boko Haram insurgency has killed thousands of people and displaced millions since it began in 2009, creating a humanitarian crisis in north-eastern Nigeria and putting […]