Burkina Faso

Al-Qaeda's North African branch said its attack on a beach resort in Ivory Coast on March 13 that killed 18 people was revenge for a French offensive against Islamist militants in the Sahel region and called for its forces to withdraw. 

Heavily armed gunmen opened fire March 13 at a hotel in the Ivory Coast beach resort of Grand-Bassam which is popular with Westerners, witnesses told AFP.

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.

Iraq has extended a ban on imports of frozen and live poultry products to cover two dozen countries, including China and South Africa, the government said on Jan. 10.

Baghdad last month restricted poultry imports from France, where an outbreak of avian flu has been reported. 

Two United Nations peacekeepers and a civilian contractor were killed on Nov. 28 in a rocket attack on a U.N. base in northern Mali claimed by the jihadist Ansar Dine group, which the Security Council warned could be a war crime.

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.