Countries in the Sahel are fearful of escalating insecurity in the region. In the latest cases, four Malian soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected insurgents, a Nigerien humanitarian worker was kidnapped in northern Mali and, in Burkina Faso, unidentified armed men held up an ambulance, removed the patient and nurse, and took the ambulance and driver away.
On Tuesday, December 28, four Malian soldiers were killed and about 12 wounded in an attack by suspected insurgents in the west of the country, Mali’s Armed Forces (FAMA) said.
The attack took place in the Nara region, close to the border with Mauritania.
FAMA said in a statement that the soldiers had been killed by “jihadists”, who had struck in the same area in the past. It did not name the “jihadists”.
“A FAMA unit in the Nara region was the target of a sophisticated attack, combining IED [improvised explosive devices] and heavy weapons.” the army said, adding that the death toll and the number of wounded soldiers was “provisional”.
In the early hours of Wednesday, December 29, a Nigerien humanitarian worker from the French non-governmental organisation, Première Urgence Internationale (Emergency First International), was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen.
Première Urgence Internationale is an international NGO that is non-profit, apolitical and secular.
The gunmen chased away the two unarmed guards and burst into the NGO’s guesthouse in Ansongo, near Gao in southeastern Mali.
According to RFI, the Nigerien humanitarian worker is a 39-year-old doctor who was based in Ansongo and had worked for the NGO for several years.
Erwan Legrand, the deputy director-general of the NGO, told the French news agency: “We do not know if it is a villainous act, an error, or if it is an armed jihadist group with other motivations. At this point, the kidnappers have not contacted us.”
And, in Burkina Faso, also on Wednesday, a CHR ambulance from Dori was stopped was stopped by armed men who took the nurse and patient out of the vehicle. They stole the ambulance and held the driver.
The ambulance was apparently on a medical evacuation mission to Ouagadougou, the capital of country, security forces said.
In an effort to fight insurgency in the Sahel, Turkey has pledged to support the Burkina Faso’s army with equipment and training. The agreement was signed between the Turkish Minister of the Interior, Süleyman Soylu, and the Burkina Faso Minister of Territorial Administration and Security, Maxime Lomboza Kone.
