Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB

Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/)
-   sub-Saharan Africa (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/sub-saharan-africa/)
-   -   Security in the West Africa in relation to travel (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/sub-saharan-africa/security-west-africa-relation-travel-97070)

CREER 5 May 2019 09:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by CREER (Post 599881)
Two French (tourists we believe) and their guide have gone missing in Parc Nationale de Pendjari in the north of Benin, it's now been 3 days.

Sad news, their guide was found shot dead, vehicle burnt out and the French believed to being held!

Will update as I get more ...

lbendel 10 May 2019 12:38

Hostages freed, 2 soldiers dead in the operation
 
https://www.lemonde.fr/international...0497_3210.html


An operation by French special forces has succeeded to free the 4 hostages (the 2 above-mentionned French toutists from Pendjari plus one American and one South Korean) that were being held hostages in BF. Unfortunately, 2 soldiers have been killed in combat.


The bad news is that the unrest that has spread from Libya to Mali to BF now impacts Benin as well.


The good news (sort of) is, the French have stopped paying for the liberation of hostages, so hopefully the trend will not spread (wishful thinking). That is not good news for the families of the special ops men of course.


Laurent

Ride Far 12 May 2019 18:28

And today, an attack on a Catholic church in north central Burkina kills 6... one month after a similar church attack in a nearby town also killed 6.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48246715

Jay_Benson 12 May 2019 21:22

Further details here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48228353

Chris Scott 19 May 2019 20:46

https://www.france24.com/en/20191305...ks-g5-hostages

7800 14 Jul 2019 12:57

Cameroon
 
Hi

Can anyone advise on the situation in Cameroon at the moment. Is it possible to go around it heading south (shipping a motorbike as well) if things go downhill

Thanks

Kissnofrog 17 Jan 2020 10:36

Cameroon Safety situation
 
Hi,
I‘m planing to go down the west coast starting this Autumn.
Recently I heard about serious safety concerns from Cameroon.
Anyone having any recent experiences?

Regards,
David

simon dippenhall 17 Jan 2020 10:46

Worth checking in also at Facebook group Overlanding Africa


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Surfy 17 Jan 2020 13:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kissnofrog (Post 607954)
Hi,
I‘m planing to go down the west coast starting this Autumn.
Recently I heard about serious safety concerns from Cameroon.
Anyone having any recent experiences?

Regards,
David

If you plan to do the full way down, you should probably should not only inform yourself about Cameroon.

Surfy

Chris Scott 22 Jan 2020 18:27

Good question as I've only just caught up with this but see nothing here.

Risks in the north of Cameroon (Boko Haram) are well known and still there afaik, but the Anglophone portion of Cameroon (formerly Southern Cameroons Brit colony) has risen against the dominant Francophone government and is seeking independence. Oddly enough it's right next to Biafra which people my age will remember well.
Wiki call it the Anglophone Crisis
Elsewhere it's the Ambazonia War.

This has affected overlanders as the once notoriously muddy but lately sealed Ikom–Ekok crossing leads into the heart of the conflict zone and has become closed to foreigners. Cameroonian consulates (in Nigeria: Lagos, Abuja, Calabar) may make you sign an affidavit promising you won't use this crossing.

In Calabar they may also insist you've bought a ferry ticket to Limbe or Tiko before they issue a visa.
The boat takes ~15 hours and will cost about $450 with a bike. It's 55km from Toko to Douala.
Leaves when full or twice week?

The only alternative is the overland crossing 700km to the north (but not too far north) between Gembu and Banyo. Same distance from Abuja.
It's unsealed and so presumably dry season only (if there is such a thing there).

From Banyo it's about 500km to Douala or Yaounde for more visas.

Happy to be corrected.

Chris Scott 24 Jan 2020 09:21

sahel
 
2 Attachment(s)
Interesting and easily digested report from ACLED
https://www.acleddata.com/2020/01/23...about-in-2020/

Sahel looks bad and escalated in 2019, but compare it to Mexico.

priffe 27 May 2020 14:57

Rumble on the Burkina- Ivory Coast boarder

https://sahelblog.wordpress.com/2020...eration-comoe/

North of CIV appear to be a hot spot now

https://twitter.com/MENASTREAM

Jay_Benson 3 Dec 2020 15:57

News article on IS in Sub-Sharan Africa
 
A report form the BBC on the changing focus of IS towards Africa:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55147863

Dave The Hat 11 Mar 2021 10:10

1 Attachment(s)
Very good article about the Dogon militia groups in Mali trying to combat the extremists:

https://www.lepoint.fr/afrique/voyag...7325_3826.php#

Attachment 25143

Chris Scott 12 Jun 2022 15:50

Mali & Burkina
 
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...ent-months.php


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