SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Burkina freezes assets of more than 100 people over 'financing of terrorism'
Abidjan, Nov 21 (AFP) Nov 21, 2024
Military-led Burkina Faso has frozen the "assets and resources" of more than 100 people, including ex-president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and two jihadist groups over the "financing of terrorism", according to a decree sent to AFP Thursday.

The decision affects 113 individuals and two "terrorist organisations" -- the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) -- according to the document, dated Tuesday and signed by Finance Minister Aboubacar Nacanabo.

Former president Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba, who is currently in exile in Togo, was among the individuals cited.

Damiba was ousted after seizing power in a January 2022 coup against elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Little more than eight months later, Damiba himself was overthrown by 34-year-old Captain Ibrahim Traore, who now heads the Sahel nation's regime.

Damiba was expelled from the military at the end of October along with around 15 officers, for alleged acts of disclosing "intelligence with a foreign power" and "terrorist groups aimed at destabilising Burkina Faso".

The regime also froze the assets of the late former Burkinabe special forces commander Ahmed Kinda, whom the authorities previously described as the "head" of "destabilisation operations" allegedly involving expelled officers.

Former intelligence services second-in-command Commander Sekou Ouedraogo, as well as exiled former ministers General Djibril Bassole, and Alpha Barry, who founded the press group Omega Media, were also named in the ministerial order.

Dozens of others -- all Burkinabe nationals -- including some currently serving prison sentences also had their finances seized over accusations of "terrorist criminal conspiracy", "terrorist murders" and "illegal possession of firearms".

Burkina Faso also banned the 113 individuals from travelling while their assets and economic resources remain frozen, the minister wrote.

Since 2015, violence attributed to armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group has claimed more than 26,000 lives in Burkina Faso, including more than 13,500 since the September 2022 coup.

More than two million people have also been forced to flee their homes inside the country.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
NASA Mars Orbiter Captures Volcano Peeking Above Morning Cloud Tops
Unexpected Dust Patterns Found on Uranus Moons Confound Scientists
Earth-based telescopes offer a fresh look at cosmic dawn

24/7 Energy News Coverage
UK nuclear site could leak until 2050s, MPs warn
ABC Solar Marks 25 Years With Grand Opening at AltaSea
UK plans solar 'revolution' for new homes

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Attacking Iran, Israel brazenly defies 'man of peace' Trump
Rubio warns Iran against targeting US over Israeli strikes
AI-enabled control system helps autonomous drones stay on target in uncertain environments

24/7 News Coverage
If people stopped having babies, how long would it be before humans were all gone?
UK's sunniest spring yields unusually sweet strawberries
Nations call for strong plastics treaty as difficult talks loom



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.