An offensive by Islamists in northern Burkina Faso has left dozens of civilians dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, Human Rights Watch said Friday.

"Atrocities by Islamist armed groups in Burkina Faso's northern Sahel region and by security forces during counterterrorism operations have left scores dead and created widespread fear and displacement," the group said in a 62-page report.

"The violence has forced tens of thousands of villagers to flee since early 2019," it said.

"Scores of people have been murdered in what amounts to a dramatic deterioration in the rights situation in northern Burkina Faso," said Corinne Dufka, Sahel director at Human Rights Watch

"Villagers are living in fear as both armed Islamists and government forces have demonstrated utter disregard for human life."

More than 100,000 people have been displaced in the poor former French colony, over half of them since the start of 2019, officials have said.

Around 4.3 million people have been driven from their homes in the worsening violence that has engulfed the entire Sahel region, including one million over the past year, according to UN humanitarian officials.

Jihadist groups have gained ground in central Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, while Chad is battling unrest on its borders.

Since 2015, more than 300 people have been killed, typically in hit-and-run raids, and the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou has been hit three times.

Chad fire chief of staff after Boko Haram attack kills 23
N'Djamena (AFP) March 23, 2019 - Chad President Idriss Deby has fired his armed forces chief of staff following the latest bout of unrest which culminated in a Boko Haram attack that left 23 dead.

Deby fired Brahim Seid Mahamat and his two deputies by presidential decree after six years in the post Friday night just hours after the attack in the southwest of the country.

The soldiers were killed after coming under attack from jihadists in the early hours of Friday morning in the deadliest attack on the Chadian military by Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency in Nigeria a decade ago.

The unrest has spread to neighbouring Niger and Chad with the Boko Haram revolt to date claiming more than 27,000 lives and uprooting more than 1.7 million people.

Friday's attack took place at Dangdala, on the northeastern bank of Lake Chad.

Thursday had seen another attack by the group kill eight civilians at Karidi in southeastern Niger in the Diffa region bordering Lake Chad, The area is one of the worst-hit areas for jihadist attacks in Niger.

Troops from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria have been grouped into a multi-national force to fight Boko Haram.

Deby's reorganisation of security -- which included the suspension of the air force chief and his deputy -- saw army chief of staff Taher Erda take the top job with a general from the northeastern region of Tibesti made chief advisor on national defence issues.

Erda is a Deby loyalist and former police chief who fought alongside the president before he took power in 1990.

The air force suspensions followed the discovery of debris from an helicopter which went missing more than a week ago in the north.

The sparsely populated, mainly desert region near the border with Sudan, Libya and Niger is volatile prone to attack from Chadian rebel groups based across the Libyan border.

In late January, France pounded Chadian rebels who had crossed back into their country from Libya to halt their incursion.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

UN hosts new round of Western Sahara talks
Geneva (AFP) March 21, 2019
A second round of talks on ending the Western Sahara conflict began behind closed doors in Switzerland Thursday, with the UN voicing hope the sides would discuss "how to build trust". Foreign ministers from Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania along with the chief negotiator from the Polisario Front liberation movement joined United Nations envoy to the disputed region, former German president Horst Kohler, in a secret location "near Geneva". The UN said the aim of the two-day talks was to take "a f ... read more