Security in the West Africa in relation to travel
 

Jan 2019 - Posts Merged
The violence and kidnapping once common in the Sahara has spread down to the Sahel and West Africa in recent years (see this) but afaict, doesn't get reported much in the MSM.
It's a combination of Islamist attacks, IEDs, abductions and so on, plus an escalation in age-old inter-tribal (herder/farmer) feuding which has become more lethal.
This thread has merged posts of such reports on HUBB for the last year or so.
To help keep this resource useful, distracting chat will be (re)moved.
Chris S





We just crossed Mali starting from Bamako were we couldn't find any info about safety going north. we drove to Segou , no problem there and the army and police told us it was OK to proceed. We went then to Djenne same thing , no problem since a while . same goes to Mopti but there was some shooting few weeks back on the Niger river in direction of Tambouctou. We went and spent few days in Sangha (pay Dogon) there is no problem there and they didn't see any problem since 5 years . ( great place to visit) .We wanted to drive on the piste toward Burkina Faso but it was no recommended due to some "bandits" anyway those are fresh info and we did it thanks to a good friend advice , the police and army were present along the road but they all say it was good to go.

Good to hear. Did you see other tourists?

Mali
 

Actually we saw one japanes tourist in Djenne and none in pay Dogon.

I'm planning to drive to Timbucktu in Dec/Jan. Did you guys hear anything on that route?

Seeb. That would be foolish to be totally honest with you! The region up there is severely under strain from AQIM, I have a friend working in the north and the situation isn't good!

Can you wait until another time? When things quieten down hopefully?

Mali update security Nov 2017
 

I was really hoping that the situation had miraculously changed by now! I guess I'll have to do it another time

Here's a comparison between 2012 and 2017. As you can see, it has deteriorated drastically

If going to Burkina, I suggest going Kayes - Kita - Bamako - Bougouni - Sikasso and you should be ok.
There's actually been an abduction in Karangossa, north of Sikasso, and an attack against a checkpoint between Bamako and Bougouni that I don't see marked on the map. But the southwest is calm.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DO1zwyrWkAAc6kU.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DO1zwy1WAAAP4uT.jpg

Security in the West Africa in relation to travel
 

Just received this unfortunate report through:

A vehicle carrying four Spanish tourists was attacked by gunmen on 25 January near the Casamance town of Diouloulou, around 11 miles (18km) from the border with Gambia. The assailants reportedly stole a significant amount of money from the tourists and raped the three women among the Spanish group, before releasing the victims.

During the attack, which took place at around 16.00 (local time), around 5,000 euros was reportedly stolen from the tourists. The victims were held captive for three hours. Police continue to search for the assailants.

Although security has generally improved in Casamance, there was a separate incident on 6 January in which gunmen killed 14 people near the southern town of Borofaye. Arrests have now been made in that case which may be linked to illegal logging. Additional troops have also been deployed to the area to counter such criminal activity.

Hmmm.....Went through Diouloulou twice in October and twice in November (with my wife as pillion on the November run).

This is bad news for those Senegalese in Abene and Kafountine trying to earn by supportingthe tourist industry.


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Damn

Every time I almost convince my wife a trip to Dakar would be ok something like this happens and she puts her foot down again.

I thought the route in from the North was becoming a safe enough trip, but it seems not. I know this is South of the Gambia, but still.

Casamance is pretty remote from Dakar and the rest of Senegal. Its troubles involve a separatist movement which hasn’t historically affected anyplace north of The Gambia. I’d be more concerned about street theft and standard scams in Dakar than about whatever might be happening in Casamance.

Fears about Africa are not necessarily rational in any way. To enjoy her trip, your wife will have to find a way to adjust to the fact that civil unrest might be under way one or two countries distant wherever you actually are at any given time. I’d say the same thing about traveling in, say, the USA.

Hope that’s helpful.

Mark

For what it's worth, I spent the last 5 days in Dogon couno and today rode to from Bandiagara to Ouagadougou. Spoke extensively to local police and others who said there should be no problems. However at the Mali border there was an abandoned police post riddled with bullet holes which was slightly off-putting[emoji15] and in fact found nowhere to officially exit Mali. The BF frontier official said they see very little traffic along that route ; despite the good road.


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I went through Dioloulou to the Seleti border post last Saturday, taking my wife to Banjul Airport. We even made a detour looking for tall growth forest around Dioloulo (without finding much) along the Gambian border.
We hadn't heard of any attack nor was their any talk about it locally. The news wasn't out.
As it was, two of my travelling partners went through Dioloulou the same way on that Thursday when the attack happened, around noon, without any problems.
Very unusual with this incident happening in daylight.
I've been to many corners of the Casamance this trip, and there are gendarme posts telling you where you can't go because of insecurity, land mines etc. We were even interrrogated after trying to get near the Bissau border south of Oukout.
But otherwise all of Casamance was very laidback and no feeling insecure in Cap Skirring, Ziguinchor or lovely Abéné.

Motorbikes not allowed anymore in parts of Mali
 

Motorbikes not allowed anymore in parts of Mali. Two Belgians arrested near Djenné
https://www.voaafrique.com/amp/mali-...mpression=true

Interesting as I rode my Moto to Djenne and on to Mopti area last week without a problem!


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Nothing to do with motorbikes specifically. Any vehicle found in a prohibited area is going to have problems. Trick is to find out where those areas are before you enter and I'd say the army wouldn't know themselves until the second they decide to declare it.

Tony if you read the article it says it IS about motorcycles and pickups as these are the preferred transport of the Isis related groups.


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A local bus hit an IED north of Mopti yesterday.
Been getting less safe in this part of Mali Sahel for a while now, not just the desert to the north.
Pic below shows why bikes may be becoming unwelcome.
Labbezanga is the riverside border with Niger.

Ouaga Security ALERT
 

There's an ongoing attack around the French Embassy, Premiere Minister's office, UN roundabout

They're reporting it could be the military, hoping that it's not AQIM!!!

If you're there, stay inside, keep your head down!

The UN security council came out with a report on Mali
United Nations Official Document

Every concerned part contributed, except for Algeria. p. 46
"The Panel requested to meet with relevant authorities in Algiers to gather
more details about these seizures in order to establish possibly linkages to armed groups operating in Mali and/or identify arms trafficking networks. The proposed visits could not be accommodated. "

The Algeria that has fired and replaced almost all the top brass in the army and the security services over a few years, starting with the all powerful general Tewfik in 2015. Possibly forced by the seizure by the Coast Guard in the port of Oran of 701 kilograms of cocaine hidden among frozen meat on a cargo ship from Brazil, with links to the army.
Now everyone is waiting for Bouteflika to decide if he will run again for a fifth term in 2019. If he goes, there has been a generational change in Algeria.
https://www.apnews.com/c3f93ce25b9b4...ut-explanation

Not Sahara but
 

The hot spots are definitely moving further south now.

Italian priest and 2 co-workers kidnapped SW of Niamey near BK border.
AFRICA/NIGER - Rapito un sacerdote italiano della Società delle Missioni Africane - Agenzia Fides

https://www.nordsudjournal.com/2018/...-burkina-faso/

There has been a number of attacks in Burkina as far south as in Diabiga near the Togo border
https://www.channelstv.com/2018/09/1...o-twin-attacks
and in the east
https://www.france24.com/en/20180908...al-qaeda-jihad

Burkina army resonded with air and ground strikes
https://thedefensepost.com/2018/09/1...s-pama-gayeri/
New video announces establishment of new Al-Qaeda branch in Burkina Faso - ITCT
This means that unfortunately now only the SW corner of Burkina can be considered relatively safe from attacks.

In the ITCT video of the Burkina AQ announcement it's worth noting that there is now a caveat saying:

UPDATE: According to ITCT Associate Jasmine Opperman, the video is not new and in fact it is a clip from an older Al-Qaeda video that was released by Al-Qaeda’s Mali branch in 2017.

Eastern Burkina Faso
 

Not sure if this is on current overland trails but eastern BK and north too seems well worth avoiding.

https://www.acleddata.com/2018/09/20...burkinas-east/

A little of my route but good to know. That website is an excellent resource, I wasn't aware of it.

I do wonder if the kidnapping of the Italian priest this week was in retaliation to the BF military strikes ...

So sad this lovely corner is being affected too now

More foreigners kidnapped from a mine in northern BF.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/65928097.cms

Wild Camping in West Africa - German Overlander Killed
 

Please stay near villages and get permission from a chief, people are currently dealing with the aftermath of this and trying to help out with language issues ...

https://www.garda.com/crisis24/news-...boma-october-1

Safety in Cote d'Ivoire
 

Hello,
we are planning our trip for January 2019.
Has anyone actual informations about safety in Cote d'Ivoire.
We plan to enter CI from Mali and want to make a roundtrip and visit
some national parcs, the Region of man and so on.
Are there still any no go aereas? What´s about Camping in the bush?

Best Regards

Juergen

Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear about it.

Perhaps worth noting that DRC is not in West Africa as per the subject heading (Central Africa) and is one of the few places in Africa that I wouldn't bush camp in Africa unless strictly necessary.

Two friends of mine on motorbikes were shot at when bush camping between Kinshasa and Matadi back in about 2011. Turns out they camped right next to a major oil pipeline and those paid to guard it tend to shoot first then ask questions. Once establishing they weren't stealing anything all was fine and conversation shared.

I wonder if being near the cemetery had anything to do with it...?

CI is generally ok ... it can flare up on occasion. Bush camping is ok if you talk to the village chief.

I live there part-time, keep in touch and let me know when you come through!

BK does not get much mainstream news but not getting any better, so a good link on where to avoid there:
https://twitter.com/J_LuengoCabrera/...21538570280961

I don't think tourists will have any problems if they stay south of Ouagadougou, it is not worse than other parts of WA, Senegal Mali, CIV etc. Just use common sense as always.

North of Ouaga has been out of range for tourists for quite a while. I was up in Dori and the gold mining district, as far north as Gorom Gorom in 2014, impossible now. Here's the 'auberge' in Dori.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Gb...=w1085-h810-no

Ouagadougou appears to have been targeted in several attacks because the security is lower than in Bamako, Niamey and other WA capitals.
Hard targets were chosen like the French Embassy and the Army HQ.

Yet again in the SE corner of Burkina!

Ask around before heading for Porga (Benin) border!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-46413189

Priffe, unclear as to why you mentioned CI and Senegal in the same mix, it's been very quiet in both countries with the exception of 13-03-16 in Bassam

I meant that the risk for being robbed or assaulted is about the same as in the rest of WA. If you are cautious, very low.
If there are attacks against military, police, army HQ and embassies it doesnt concern tourism that much.
Targeted kidnappings and attacks against hotels and popular tourist spots is a whole another story.

Some reading from Menas the think tank in London
https://www.menas.co.uk/wp-content/u.../09/SF0616.pdf

I was chatting to a US military person based in Senegal, and they said the following about Casamance that I'd like to share.

South of The Gambia it is usually fine, but we’ve noted some security incidents, mainly banditry along the roads. If you head off of the main roads, beware of abandoned villages, it could mean that there are anti-personnel mines in the area which they have not yet removed.

I travelled from Soma (The Gambia) to Sedhiou town to Marsassoum then Ziguinchor in December 2018 without problem.

The incident in January was probably a hoax, from what we could find out from media and from talking to locals.
Robberies in villages in plain daylight is not common in WA. Where it was supposed to have happened, in Dioloulou, there is a military checkpoint, and as I said, we were there the day after and nobody had heard about it. If three women had actually been raped, everybody would have known.
So what it was about is anybody's guess. Insurance fraud?

What you say about landmines, there is such a military presence in Casamance that they would never let you get anywhere near abandoned villages or minefields.

The other incident where 14 young locals were killed was one of those tribal feuds over money or property or bad magic that would have nothing to do with tourists.

But obviously people reading the news become so scared that they may never set foot in Africa!
The only way to get to know Africa is by going there - what you get from media does not give you even a remote idea of how it really is.

Italian and Canadian Missing in Burkina Faso
 

An Italian man and a Canadian women have been missing in Burkina Faso. They were travelling by car.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/quebec...faso-1.4241773

Hope they are ok,
Patrick

This article suggests they were spotted in Ziniare to the north east of Ouagadougou:

Research is active in Burkina Faso | AfricaZine

Really hoping they are both ok and make contact soon.

Canadian/Italian couple missing in Burkina
 

While not quite the Sahara, the news is relevant to anyone attempting to traverse from the North. Mainstream media just picking up the disappearance of a Canadian/Italian couple in Burkina last month, so far no news of their fate:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/quebec...faso-1.4241773

You are not supposed to go north of Ouaga these days

I read in another report today that it was not them in Ziniare, but instead a German couple.

I think there is just pure speculation swirling around at the moment and nothing concrete. It seems that this guy Patrick Gagnon is pulling out all the stops in looking for them.

The latest info about them is saying that they were in the south-west of Burkina around the Pics de Sindou.

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/20...n-dedith-blais

Here is a picture of their car.


Patrick

Hi everybody,

When referencing the FCO travel advice for Burkina, it says:

"In September 2018, 3 foreign nationals were kidnapped in 2 separate incidents (in the far north, and near Burkina Faso’s southern border with Ghana) by armed groups".

I am aware of the incident in the far north where 3 workers from a mine were abducted, but have no information on the one they say happened near the border with Ghana.

Can anybody recollect this incident and what happened?

I read it as the missing Canadian/Italian couple which Andrasz mentions above, even if the numbers don't quite add up.

Meanwhile in the graphic below, places to avoid in Mali.

Hi Chris,

I don't follow that, as the Italian/Canadian were last seen on 15 December 2018 in Bobo.

The FCO are referencing a kidnapping close to the Ghana border in September 2018 - yet there is absolutely no mention of any such incident anywhere that I can find.

In September 2018 we know that a catholic priest was taken hostage in Niger (close to the Burkina border), and 3 mine workers were kidnapped in the north of Burkina (close to the Mali border). But nothing about an abduction in Burkina close to the Ghana border.

Anbody else able to find anything?

I did not find anything on the kidnapping close to the Ghana border. It would be the kidnapping of 1 foreigner since the 3 kidnapped in the north were of nationalities: burkinabé, indian and south africain.

I would think that the kidnapping close to Ghana is false information. The website "garda.com" is excellent at posting any incident in countries and there is nothing about that kidnapping.

The other kidnappings in 2018 were locals.

Patrick

So maybe it was wrt the Italian priest and the FCO got the border country wrong.

Why not contact them to check.

Hi Chris,

Already contacted them but no response.

I was hoping somebody on here might recall this event but I'm pretty sure they've got the location wrong.

Cheers all!

David

wrong fco
 

Hi all,


"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-burkina-kidnapping/three-workers-reportedly-kidnapped-near-burkina-faso-gold-mine-idUSKCN1M42EN".


The company was from Ghana.


Bye the way:

Do not affiliate yourself with foreign goldmining companies in burkina faso.
There is a lot of anger in burkina regarding big companies mining cheap gold. Only 10 percent of the revenue stays in burkina faso.



Ofcourse the kidnappings are not ok.

Hi Wilmar,

Yes, we are all aware of the kidnapping of the 3 mine workers in September 2018. As we know this took place in the north of Burkina Faso - as detailed in the Reuters article you referenced.

The British FCO have also stated that there was a kidnapping in the south of Burkina, close to the Ghana border.

There is absolutely no reference to this incident anywhere on the internet.

In my email to the FCO to ask for clarity on this they said they can't offer specific information!

None of my contacts have any information about this incident near the Ghana border either.

So it's all a little mysterious...

The massacre at New Years Eve in Mali took place in Koulogon, which is in the southern part of the falaise in Pays Dogon. While not an islamist attack, it is part of the escalating violence happening in Mali, also affecting neighbouring countries
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-m...-idUSKCN1OV1RZ

Security in the West Africa in relation to travel
 

The violence and kidnapping once common in the Sahara has spread down to the Sahel and West Africa in recent years (see here) but afaict, doesn't get reported much in the MSM.
It's a combination of Islamist attacks, IEDs, abductions and so on, plus an escalation in age-old inter-tribal (herder/farmer) feuding which has become more lethal.
This new thread has merged posts of such reports on HUBB for the last year or so.

To help keep this resource useful, distracting chat will be (re)moved.

Also New Years Eve there was similar strife between mossi and fulani north of Ouaga with many casualties. https://af.reuters.com/article/topNe...CN1OZ09Q-OZATP

Burkina appears unable to contain the spreading violence. Blaise Campaoré must have made a pact with the devil, since Burkina was comparatively peaceful for decades. Now there are disturbing reports from all corners of the country, with hunting lodges being burnt in SE, and animals including lions poached.

Another Canadian Kidnapped in Burkina Faso
 

Yesterday, another Canadian got kidnapped in Burkina Faso close to the Niger border. He was not a traveller but working for a mine company.

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/20...u-burkina-faso

Patrick

White man found shot in Burkina
 

A mining guy disappeared 2 days ago, believed kidnapped ... No further information at the moment, will update with nationality and location when I hear more

RIP

As suspected, Canadian mine employee

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/can...dead-1.4981602

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/707417/...retrouve-mort/
The poor bloke probably put up some resistance and they shot him. His body found 15 kms NE of Gorom Gorom, near the Mali border. The abductors escaped towards Niger.


Four westerners kidnapped in Burkina since 2015 are still held hostage:

Iulian Ghergut Romanian April 2015
Dr Ken Elliot Aussie Jan 2016
An Indian and a South African September 2018

And the Italian/Canadian couple have been missing one month now, after leaving Bobo D for Ouaga.

As an addition to this, the social media group West Africa Travellers has a WhatsApp group with various local security officials and an EU Embassy Security Attache resident in the region and in the group watching us, willing to offer support to most EU and N.American nationals should the need arise.

Several weeks ago one member in the group and their family were camping near Banfora, woken at 0200 surrounded by men with guns, parents were forcefully separated from their children. They initially thought they were being kidnapped but it turned out to be the Burkinabe police (who are very jittery and will shoot first, ask questions later) thinking the family were jihadists.

Two French missing, northern Benin
 

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.

Added to which, areas of Cotonou are fighting following the 'democratic' elections

Fingers firmly crossed all this calms down! :rain: I'm regularly updating in a social media group West Africa Travellers

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

Will update as I get more ...

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

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

Further details here:

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

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

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

Worth checking in also at Facebook group Overlanding Africa


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

Surfy

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.

sahel
 

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.

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

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

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

Mali & Burkina
 

Barkhane officially ends
 

I've heard some authoritatively-stated rumblings from ex-pats on another forum stating that travel in northern Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire has gotten dangerous due to Islamist activity. This is not something I've heard previously, and I can't confirm what they're saying, but at least one of the sources is not generally prone to scaremongering or exaggeration. I'd take with a grain of salt, while listening carefully for corroborating reports.

Mark

German priest missing in Bamako since late November:
 

Ivory Coast visa ????
 

Hi
Planning route November 2023 from Morocco>Mauritania>Senegal>Cape Verde>Gambia>G.Bissau>Sierra Leone>Liberia>Ivory Coast ..... My question is as an Australian/UK passport holder did you cross from Liberia>Ivory Coast succesfully ,if you did this journey where did you obtain your Ivory Coast VISA ??? (any info welcomed)
mercie

Get it in Bissau. Very easy

Chad Travel Advisory
 

*Polish doctor abducted in Chad*

FROM AFP NEWS: "A female Polish doctor has been abducted in southern Chad by armed assailants. Volunteer Aleksandra Kuligowska was taken on Friday 09/02/2024 from the Saint-Michel hospital run by the Caritas Catholic charity at Dono Manga (some 400 kilometres south-east of the capital N'Djamena). By late Sunday, nobody had claimed the kidnapping ..."

More information:

https://www.barrons.com/news/polish-...opics_afp-news

[Polish only] https://www.gov.pl/web/dyplomacja/ko...elki-w-czadzie

kidnapped in Agadez, Jan 25
 

Austrian development aid worker kidnapped in Agadez, Jan 25 and probably taken to Mali.
But no travellers go there any more.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgy015l22do
https://sahara-overland.com/kidnappings/