Burkina Faso

ADF STAFF Nigerien Chief of Staff of the Army Col. Maj. Mamane Sani Kiaou has worked closely with the United States military in recent months to arrange for the phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from the West African country. Kiaou and a…

ADF STAFF In a region facing terrorism, coups and transnational organized crime, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have long sought to build a standby force to bolster security. Member nations’ defense and…

ADF STAFF Violent extremist organizations from northern Benin and Burkina Faso are increasingly targeting northern Togo as conflicts from the Sahel spill into coastal countries. Four people on a tricycle in the north-central town of…

ADF STAFF Immediately after Burkina Faso’s National Assembly unanimously approved arming civilian volunteers to help battle extremists in January 2020, the risks were clear. Despite two weeks of training, an age requirement of 18…

ADF STAFF The Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group claimed responsibility for the June 11 attack on a Burkina Faso military base in Mansila that killed more than 100 Soldiers and several civilians. It was the…

ADF STAFF As government forces and extremists increasingly use low-cost drones a on battlefields to monitor and attack each other, civilians often are caught in the middle with deadly consequences. The drone technology ranges from…

ADF STAFF Newly released video shows Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) fighters in Burkina Faso marching with weapons held aloft and lining up on motorcycles. Analysts say the display of force is evidence that the terror group…

ADF STAFF In Africa, the Russian mercenary outfit formerly known as the Wagner Group left a trail of allegations of massacres, executions, torture, rape and theft. Because Russia has partnered with a handful of repressive authoritarian…

ADF STAFF When reports surfaced in late April that the Burkinabe Army massacred hundreds of civilians, its military-led government sprang into action. It suspended a host of media outlets, blocked websites, and shut down radio and…

ADF STAFF With extremists sowing chaos all around it, Ghana remains an island of calm. However, observers say conditions in the country’s northern regions may put that stability at risk. In Bawku and other communities along Ghana’s north,…