Burkina Faso – Canadian Woman “Located By UN Forces” March 14
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UN Forces Locate Canadian Woman, Italian Man Who Mysteriously Disappeared in Burkina Faso in 2018
sputniknews March 15 2020
https://sputniknews.com/africa/202003151078570589-un-forces-locate-canadian-woman-italian-man-who-mysteriously-disappeared-in-burkina-faso-in-2018-/
Edith Blais and Luca Tacchetto disappeared on 15 December 2018 in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, reportedly while travelling in western Africa to Togo for a humanitarian project.
The Canadian and the Italian national were reportedly making their escape in Mali when discovered by UN forces, after which they were taken to the nation's capital, Bamako, AFP said, adding that the pair was wearing clothes of the regional Tuareg people and had apparently stopped a passing vehicle and told the driver to take them to the nearest UN post.
AFP highlighted a curious detail, as Blais and Tacchetto were surprised when local officials greeted them with elbows, before they were told about new measures to tackle the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
Details of their disappearance are yet unknown. At the time, no terrorist or extremist group operating in the area of the alleged kidnapping claimed the responsibility for their capture.
Mali officials said that no ransom to any terrorist group had been paid.
Both Blais and Tacchetto have reportedly not spoken publicly about details of their escape.
Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that "Canada is very relieved" that the pair "are now free from captivity", according to AFP.
Two Western hostages kidnapped in Burkina Faso have been freed, U.N. says
Reuters March 14 2020
https://news.trust.org/item/20200314121128-8duyh
AFRCOM General Townsend visit to Burkina Faso Sept 2019; did not find details of troops physical stationed or part of UN in Burkina Faso… reduces likelihood related to POTUS announcement
US AFRICOM commander Townsend meets G5 Sahel leaders in inaugural trip
https://thedefensepost.com/2019/09/18/us-africom-townsend-g5-sahel-mali-burkina-faso-niger/
excerpt:
“The security issue in the Sahel is a clear concern to the United States, and AFRICOM will continue to support the international effort to degrade the capabilities of violent extremist organizations in the region to execute violent attacks and to disrupt and neutralize their networks,” Reho said. “We view the G5 Sahel Joint Force as an important African-led initiative that can help restore peace and security in the Sahel.”
On September 11, the al-Qaeda Sahelien affiliate known as JNIM claimed a deadly attack in Mali near the Burkina Faso border targeting forces of the G5 Sahel. JNIM, a French acronym for Support Group for Islam and Muslims, said its fighters killed six gendarmes and captured weapons and ammunition in the attack.
JNIM had earlier warned the Burkina Faso government and those in the G5 Sahel group of states that attacks would continue while they cooperate with the France-led Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism force.
Two days before the summit, two soldiers were killed and five injured in two simultaneous nighttime attacks in Baraboulé and Nassoumbou in Burkina Faso’s northern Sahel region that borders Mali. JNIM claimed its fighters were responsible, and said that the attacks were a message to ECOWAS states ahead of their meeting.
JNIM is active in Mali and has carried out attacks in Niger. Operations in Burkina Faso are increasing and Ansar ul Islam, which emerged near the Mali border in December 2016, is also active.
Another significant threat to the region comes from Islamic State West Africa Province in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Since May, Islamic State has attributed insurgent activities in the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border area to its West Africa Province affiliate, rather than to what was previously known as Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.
Some ECOWAS members have also called for an international coalition to battle the insurgency in west Africa.
for Planefags
pic: Burkina Faso Air Force colors, from wikipedia