Attacks in Burkina Faso — a simmering Islamist conflict

The women were picking fruit near a town blockaded by the militants for years, causing food shortages. The incident is considered the first mass abduction of women in the country.

Some 50 women were abducted by jihadis in northern Burkina Faso, as they ventured out to find food for their families amid shortages due to militant blockades. The Burkinabe government announced the kidnappings in the Northern province of Soum on Monday.

Sixty-six women and children kidnapped by armed assailants in northern Burkina Faso last week have been freed, national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Television du Burkina (RTB) said on Friday

Relations between the two nations soured after the army took control, for a second time, in Burkina Faso in September last year. France also pulled out of neighboring Mali last year.

Burkina Faso has said it aims to defend itself after the government announced it had decided to end a military accord that allowed French troops to fight insurgents on its territory.

France has received a request from the Burkinabe military junta to withdraw its troops from the Sahel country and will do so within a month. The success of the counterterrorism operation has been limited, experts say.

We investigate AI-generated videos that urge support for the Burkinabé military junta and its leader Ibrahim Traoré, just days after the junta ordered French troops to leave the country. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl.

We investigate AI-generated videos that call for support for the Burkinabe military junta and its leader Ibrahim Traore, just days after the junta ordered French troops to leave the country. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl.

French non-profit Forbidden Stories has released a report claiming that an Israeli firm in 2020 sought to discredit the ICRC in Burkina Faso. "Team Jorge" has been shown to influence more than 30 elections around the world with over two thirds of those claimed to be in Africa.

The country's ruling accused the French broadcaster of "acting as a mouthpiece" for an al-Qaeda affiliated group. France 24 has denied the allegation and condemned the move.

Officials have decried the "despicable and barbaric attack," but did not immediately say who was behind it. The West African country has been fighting militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group since 2013.

The military said in a statement at least 33 soldiers died when a contingent of troops were attacked by suspected armed terrorist groups in eastern Burkina Faso.