Sahel Edition

Burkina Faso: Makeshift gold mine caves in near Hounde, killing several minersF

Posted On 9 February 2023

Number of times this article was read : 896
The North Africa Journal's WhatsApp Group

The North Africa Journal’s WhatsApp Group

Ten people were killed when a makeshift gold mine collapsed in western Burkina Faso, a miners’ association said on Thursday. “In the early hours of February 8, miners… were trapped” near the town of Hounde, according to Abasse Derra, an official with the local gold miners’ association. “The death toll so far is 10,” he added giving a provisional toll confirmed by Moussa Ouedraogo, another member of the association. Collapses are frequent at Burkina Faso’s gold mining sites, where local communities feel they receive little benefit.

Gold has overtaken cotton to become the poor West African country’s main export, with 17 industrial mines producing around 70 tonnes per year. Informal mining employs around 1.5 million people and generates a further 10 tonnes of gold every year, according to the mining ministry. In April 2022, Russian gold company Nordgold said it had halted activity at its main private mine in northern Burkina Faso for “security reasons”.

The region has been plagued by a jihadist insurgency led by rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, killing thousands and displacing almost two million since 2015. Deadly jihadist attacks in the impoverished Sahel state often target gold mine workers.

AFP

More on the Sahel

West Africa: Jihadist Attacks Intensify in Northern Benin Amid Cross-Border Insurgency Pressure$

Jihadist attacks in northern Benin have intensified in recent weeks, with militants linked to JNIM claiming a deadly assault on a military position near the Niger border and carrying out additional raids on security posts along the country’s volatile frontiers with Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The violence underscores how northern Benin has become part of a wider cross-border insurgency spilling south from the central Sahel, even as authorities bolster Operation Mirador and try to prevent armed groups from entrenching themselves on Beninese soil.

Desert Locusts Stir Fresh Worries in North-West Africa$

Small desert locust swarms recently detected along the western Sahara corridor have prompted stepped-up monitoring across parts of North and West Africa, where shifting rainfall can quickly turn quiet desert areas into launchpads for wider infestations.

Mali Army, Russian Allies Accused of Executing Civilians Near Mauritania Border$

Seven Malian refugees traveling from Mauritania were allegedly executed by Malian soldiers and Russian Africa Corps personnel near Ahl El Kory, close to the Mauritanian border, after their vehicles were stopped on March 6. Local sources say the unarmed Fulani civilians were shot or had their throats cut, while other passengers were beaten, questioned as suspected jihadists, then released.