Sahel

250 rebels captured after French strikes on convoy, Chad army says

Chad's military said it had captured more than 250 rebels after Chadian and French operations against militants trying to cross into the country from Libya

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Burkina Faso president overhauls army commands in wake of ‘terrorist’ attacks

Burkina Faso is overhauling its army command in the face of a wave of attacks on security personnel, according to presidential decrees

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Chad president Deby says rebel convoy ‘destroyed’ by 3 days of French airstrikes

Chadian President Idriss Deby said a column of rebels which had sought to cross into the country from Libya had been "destroyed" in a series of French airstrikes

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Ex-jihadists among 5,000 to sign up for Mali disarmament program

Some 5,000 fighters signed up to a disarmament program in Mali's conflict-plagued central region, including suspected ex-jihadists

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French Mirage 2000 jets again strike vehicles in northern Chad

French Mirage 2000 jets carried out fresh strikes against an armed convoy which crossed into Chad from Libya, after earlier strikes failed to halt its advance

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Five Burkina Faso gendarmes killed as ‘terrorists’ attack Oursi in the Sahel region

Five Burkina Faso gendarmes were killed in a 'terrorist' attack at Oursi in the northern Sahel region, the armed forces said

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G5 Sahel leaders again call for UN assistance to fund Joint Force

Five nations waging a battle against militants in Africa's Sahel region again asked for UN funding and other aid to help tackle the cross-border jihadist insurgency

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Burkina Faso and DC National Guard sign counter-terror partnership

The District of Columbia National Guard and Armed Forces of Burkina Faso concluded a formal partnership to develop the African nation’s counter-terrorism and peacekeeping capacities as part of the U.S. National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership program. Burkina Faso is the 76th country to join the program, which will focus on building its security force capabilities, the D.C. National Guard said on February 3. The partnership will include “mission areas related to homeland defense and security, disaster mitigation and response, consequence and crisis management, inter-agency cooperation, border, port and aviation security, fellowship-style internships, and combat medical events” similar to the existing partnership with Jamaica, the National Guard said. “We are eager to develop our partnership with Burkina Faso through targeted security force assistance programs aimed at building Burkina Faso’s capacity in specific areas such as counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, intelligence, and defense institutions building,” said Major General William J. Walker, Commanding General, D.C. National Guard. The agreement was formally signed on February 1 with Walker in attendance, as well as Burkina Faso’s Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense Justin Som, U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso Andrew Young, Brigadier General Moise Miningou, the Chief of General Staff for the National Armed Forces of Burkina Faso, and …

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Burkina Faso: 14 civilians killed in attack in Yatenta near Mali border

The attack in the town of Kain in the Yatenta province bordering Mali, is one of the most serious recorded in Burkina Faso and came on the eve of a G5 Sahel summit

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French Mirage 2000 jets strike vehicles that entered Chad from Libya

French Mirage 2000 fighter jets carried out air strikes to halt an armed group that entered northern Chad from Libya in a column of 40 pickups

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