DW News published this video item, entitled “Violence in West Africa puts neighbors under pressure | DW News” – below is their description.
In West Africa, there is growing concern that jihadist violence in Mali and Burkina Faso and its repercussions are increasingly being felt in neighboring countries.
The crisis has displaced more than two million people in Burkina Faso, with many of them now fleeing south to Ghana as the attacks continue. DW’s Maxwell Suuk visited a camp hosting the refugees close to the border.
And as the displaced Burkinabe people ponder their futures, there are similar questions about the insecurity in Mali, which is the epicenter of this crisis. For a decade, jihadi groups have carried out frequent attacks destabilizing the central and northern regions of the country.
Even interventions by foreign armies have failed to put an end to the threat. Following a 2020 military coup in Mali, relations with western partners have crumbled. The new junta embraced Russia, France has withdrawn its troops after nine years in the West African country, and the future of the UN peacekeeping mission, Minusma, is now under threat with major troop contributors like Germany rethinking their involvement.
DW News YouTube Channel
Got a comment? Leave your thoughts in the comments section, below. Please note comments are moderated before publication.
About This Source - DW News
DW News is a global English-language news and information channel from German public international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, established in summer 2015.
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa that covers an area of around 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) and is bordered by Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.
The July 2019 population estimate by the United Nations was 20,321,378. Previously called Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984), it was renamed “Burkina Faso” on 4 August 1984 by President Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabé, and its capital is Ouagadougou.
Due to French colonialism, the country’s official language of government and business is French, but this language is spoken by approximately only 10-15% of the population. There are 59 native languages spoken in Burkina, with the most common language, Moore, spoken by roughly 50% of Burkinabé.
The Republic of Upper Volta was established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing colony within the French Community and on 5 August 1960 it gained full independence.
A coup d’état or just coup is the removal and seizure of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal, unconstitutional seizure of power by a political faction, the military, or a dictator.
France is a republic and the largest Western European nation. Through expansion and colonisation in the 17th and 18th centuries France became a great power and still retains territories around the world. It has a seat on the UN security council and is the world’s fourth most wealthy country with a high standard of living and strong cultural identity.
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe. It lies between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south.
Germany is a federal parliamentary republic led by a chancellor. With over 83 million inhabitants of its 16 constituent states, it is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, as well as the most populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city is Berlin, and its financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres. The population of Mali is 19.1 million. 67% of its population was estimated to be under the age of 25 in 2017. Its capital is Bamako.
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country located in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the south.
Russia spans more than one-eighth of the Earth’s inhabited land area, stretching eleven time zones, and bordering 16 sovereign nations. Moscow is the country’s capital.
The Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 and since 1993 Russia been governed as a federal semi-presidential republic. Russia is a major great power, with the world’s second-most powerful military, and the fourth-highest military expenditure. As a recognised nuclear-weapon state, the country possesses the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.