Niger airport attack: Thirty-five die in attack on Niamey airport
Summary: Niger has been fighting a militant Islamist insurgency for a decade and in January suspected jihadists attacked the same airport. Thirty-five people have been killed after gunmen struck Niger's largest airport on Thursday, officials say…
Kidnapping of foreigners soars in Africa’s lawless Sahel region
Summary: Growing insecurity in the Sahel made 2025 one of the worst years on record for the abduction of foreigners in Africa. When Marin Petrović arrived in Bamako in early September last year, he was elated. The Bosnian national had spent years…
Niger: Nearly 50 people die of thirst after lorry breaks down in Sahara desert
Summary: Only two survived after trekking more than 50km (30 miles) across the desert to alert the authorities. At least 49 people have died of thirst in a remote part of the Sahara desert in northern Niger after the truck carrying them broke down, the…
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have turned to Russia. Now the US wants to engage
Summary: The US signals that restoring democracy is no longer a priority and it is ready to work with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The US has declared a stark policy shift towards three West African countries which are battling Islamist insurgents and…
Suspected jihadits attack airport near Niger’s capital
Summary: Niger's defence ministry said four military personnel were injured and 20 attackers killed in the incident. Suspected jihadists have launched an attack on the international airport outside Niger's capital Niamey. Niger's defence…
Mali’s jihadist blockade: Niger revokes licences of tanker drivers who refuse to travel
Summary: Jihadists have been targeting tankers entering Mali, worsening the country’s fuel shortage. Niger has revoked the licences of dozens of transport operators and drivers for refusing to deliver fuel to neighbouring Mali where they face possible…
Burkina Faso rejects Human Rights Watch report that over 1,800 killed since Ibrahim Traoré took power
Summary: The government says the report, which blamed most of the killings on the military, as "unfounded". Burkina Faso has rejected a report that said more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in acts amounting to "crimes against…
Burkina Faso severs diplomatic ties with France
Summary: The West African country's junta accused the former colonial power of undermining its national interests. Burkina Faso's military junta has broken off diplomatic ties with France, accusing Paris of persistently acting against its…
Captain Ibrahim Traoré says Burkina Faso must ‘forget’ about democracy
Summary: Capt Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in 2023, says democratic rule would not work for his country. Democracy "kills" and the people of Burkina Faso must "forget" it, the country's military ruler has said in an interview…
Ghana tomato traders among dead in Burkina Faso attack
Summary: Seven men from Ghana were "burnt beyond recognition" after Islamists raided the town they were travelling through. Reports say at least 20 people were killed on Saturday in the northern town of Titao, Burkina Faso, in attacks claimed…