Piercing thorns and treacherous stones underfoot did not stop some of the young woman as they charged through thickets fleeing armed militants who had kidnapped them with dozens of others in northern Burkina Faso last week.

Witnesses say that young demonstrators against the government of interim President Mahamat Deby are being tortured and killed. Deby has extended his stay in power for two years beyond the promised transitional period.

An abducted Cameroonian ruling party senator appears in a video announcing her resignation and calling for anglophone independence. Regina Mundi may have been forced to read this statement by English-speaking separatist militia. Meanwhile, in Congo-Brazzaville, there are calls for the government to do more to identify and support those suffering from mental illness. And as Muslims across Africa prepare to celebrate Eid, preparations have been tainted by soaring prices.

At least 50 people have been killed and dozens abducted by gunmen in Plateau state in central Nigeria, residents and a community leader said on Monday. It is the latest in a spate of attacks by armed gangs in central and northern parts of Africa's most populous nation.

Seventy-five children who were kidnapped from their school in Nigeria's northwestern state of Zamfara were freed after their abductors came under pressure from a military crackdown, a state official said on Sunday (September 12). Gunmen took the students from the village of Kaya on Sept. 1, the latest in a spate of mass kidnappings from schools across the region. More than 1,100 children have been abducted since December last year. Authorities say heavily armed gangs of bandits, seeking ransom payments, are behind the abductions.

Insight into the release of abducted OOU students

Gunmen have abducted an unknown number of children in an attack on a boarding school. It's the second time in a week that kidnappers have targeted a school in the West African country.

Niger: 53 abducted passengers regain freedom after one week captivity

The story of Leah Sharibu's capture and her continued detention by the Boko Haram insurgents as a result of her defiance of compromise and refusal to renounce her faith is the stuff of legend. Leah, then 14, was abducted with 109 other girls of the Dapchi Technical College. Of the 110 girls abducted, five died in captivity while 104 were released on March 20, 2018. Leah Sharibu alone was not released because she refused to renounce her faith and convert to Islam as demanded by her captors.

Parents of abducted Katsina students assemble at school premises, keep vigil