Top US diplomat Antony Blinken, on a rare visit to the landlocked West African country, announces $150 million in new aid for Sahel region, including Niger, one of world's poorest countries.
One of the escapees was Saleck Ould Cheikh, who had been on death row since 2011 for his part in a plot to assassinate former Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, but it was unclear if he was among the fatalities.
According to local sources, at least 12 people were killed after armed men attacked the town of Bani in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso.
Deadly attack in Centre-North region on auxiliary force that supports poorly equipped military leaves at least 12 people dead, local sources say.
Malian authorities say at least 100 people have been killed in several days of fighting over territory between Daesh and local Al Qaeda in the east of the country.
Following in the footsteps of its European partners, Britain too has cut short its troop deployment with the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Mali, six months earlier than planned.
The Elysee Palace has announced an end to France’s anti-militant operation in Africa’s Sahel region, but has left in its wake incidents of rights abuses committed by the French military yet to be prosecuted.
The coup is the latest in a string of military takeovers in the Sahel region in the last two years, often accompanied by large protests in support of the putschists.
Rebel groups accused the interim government representatives of creating a “bad atmosphere” at talks and announcing the August 20 national dialogue without any consultation.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said fertiliser and energy prices rose in the past year, adding they would impact all harvests including rice and corn.
“A combination of violence, insecurity, deep poverty and record-high food prices is exacerbating malnutrition and driving millions to the fringes of survival,” according to the UN.
As violence aggravates existing crises, 15% of Burkina Faso's population is currently faced with food insecurity, and 1 in 10 children suffer from malnutrition, says the Red Cross.
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