Ouagadougou

Turkey stands ready to help fight the growing threat of terrorism in West Africa under a new strategic partnership that aims to boost trade and other ties with the continent, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said on March 2.

Pope Francis on Jan. 17 welcomed 5,000 migrant worshippers at a special mass at St Peter's to mark the world day of migrants and refugees, urging them to treasure their "culture and precious values".

At least 29 people, including at least 11 foreigners, were killed in an Al-Qaeda attack on a top hotel in Burkina Faso, an unprecedented strike in the capital illustrating the expanding reach of regional jihadists.

At least 20 people are reported to have been killed and other wounded in an Islamist attack in the city center of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

The four-star hotel is frequently used by westerners and United Nations staff, while according to witnesses speaking to media, about 100-150 people are believed to have been in the hotel and restaurant at the time of the attack.

The leader of a short-lived coup in Burkina Faso, General Gilbert Diendere, was handed over to authorities on Oct.1 after seeking refuge in the Vatican embassy, sources in the transitional government said on Oct.1. 

The president of Burkina Faso was back in charge on Sept.23 and said he would resume overseeing a transition to democracy, ending a coup by presidential guard soldiers who took him hostage last week. 

Coup leaders in Burkina Faso announced on Sept.18 they had released the country's interim president Michel Kafando whom they had detained along with the premier and two ministers.

Burkina Faso?s military said on Sept.16 it had stripped interim President Michel Kafando of his functions and dissolved the government, seizing power in a coup less than a month before elections meant to restore democracy in the West African country. 

Two French special forces soldiers accused of sexually abusing children in Burkina Faso returned home on July 2 and were taken into custody, said a legal source.

The family of the Romanian citizen abducted on Saturday by armed people in Burkina Faso was invited on Sunday at the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) to discuss with the representatives of the ministry's task force working on this incident, the Spokesperson and Communication Directorate of the MAE informed AGERPRES.

Photo credit: (c) Liviu SOVA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE