Humanitarians call it a “neglected” catastrophe.
International News
Jihadist Bloodshed Fills Burkina Displacement Camps
Feebly shaded by trees in the blistering heat, desperate civilians throng a displacement camp in tents and ramshackle shelters after fleeing jihadist violence in northeastern Burkina Faso.
Abandoning their homes and farms as the militants swooped, thousands have run for their lives to these camps near the town of Dori, where little hope awaits them.
“They came to our village and threatened us. They stole our cattle. They killed our people,” said one of the survivors, Kirissi Sawadogo.
“That is why we had to flee and came here,” she said, preparing a meal of millet paste.
From her home village of Lelly in the Sahel desert region, she fled to Wendou 2, an offshoot of a vast initial camp of the same name that is now home to 3,000 people.
Armed jihadists have for almost 10 years been terrorising civilians in this African country on the southern fringe of the Sahel.
The displaced people rarely speak of the groups’ names, but authorities generally identify them as militants linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.
In September 2023, armed men attacked the Wendou camp, killing eight inhabitants.
– ‘Neglected’ displacement crisis –
A new ranking by the non-government Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) published on Monday judged that Burkina Faso is suffering the most neglected displacement crisis for the second year in a row.
A quarter of the estimated two million displaced people in Burkina Faso are from the Sahel region in the north, according to the country’s latest official data, which date from 2023.
At the start of this year, 85 per cent of schools and 69 per cent of the health centres in the Sahel sector were closed, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Visiting the camps in late May, the NRC’s head Jan Egeland said the Sahel “is an area which is systematically overlooked”.
He said the situation had worsened due to a diplomatic crisis between Western donor states and the military leaders who took power in recent years in three countries struggling with jihadists: Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The Burkinabe authorities frequently claim victories over the jihadists, but no end to the violence is in sight and part of the country is beyond the army’s control.
– Illegal gold-panning –
In the Torodi camp, another desolate displacement centre near Dori, Amadou Dicko said he arrived six months ago with his family.
“We are just here with nothing,” he said. “We have to rely on ourselves to survive.”
Some of the men earn a handful of CFA francs from illegal gold-panning in the surrounding region, despite the danger posed there by the armed groups.
Even the children in the camp “try to bring home something to eat”, said Aissetou Amadou, another inhabitant who arrived six months ago.
She fled her home village near the town of Gorgadji after being threatened by “armed men”.
“Yesterday (the children) managed to bring back two kilos (4.4 pounds) of rice” that they bought in the town, she said, sitting on a mat in a tiny makeshift shelter of wood and tarpaulin.
“We cooked half of it in the evening and the rest this morning,” she said.
She did not know when the family’s next meal would come.
– Food convoys threatened –
The UN World Food Programme flies in some essentials to the displaced here.
But most food, fuel and farming supplies must still go by road, under army escort, through a dangerous stretch of road frequently targeted by jihadists.
Dori, a big town on the highway to the capital Ouagadougou, is a key hub for such supplies.
By the roadside stand dozens of trucks, waiting for permission to leave in a convoy on the perilous route through the Dori district.
“In the past you could load your vehicle at 7:00 pm in the evening in Ouagadougou and by 6:00 am it would be at the store” to unload the delivery, said Amadou Hamidou Dicko, president of the Dori traders’ association.
“Nowadays, you have to wait two weeks, a month or a month and a half,” he added. “It depends, because they never tell you the exact day when the convoy is going to leave.”
– Food prices soar –
The restrictions have driven up the price of trucking and, in turn, the cost of products in the shop.
“Two or three years ago, a 50-kilogram sack of rice sold for 16 or 17,000 CFA (about $28). Now it’s 27,000 CFA,” said Dicko.
Traders sometimes resort to driving by alternative routes without an escort — at risk of having their goods and trucks stolen or destroyed.
Back in the Wendou 2 camp, Kirissi Sawadogo finishes preparing her millet paste. In the evening, she will add a bit of water and salt to it and feed it to her children.
Another refugee in the camp, Hawa Mama, a red scarf covering her head, said she had “no strength left to move”, having also fled her village.
“Even though it is hard here, back there it is worse,” she said, in the Fulfulde language of the Fulani people.
“We have no choice but to stay here. There is nothing left for us back there.”
AFP
Manuel Neuer has been called up to Germany’s World Cup squad – two years after his international retirement.
The 40-year-old was named as part of Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad for the tournament this summer, having not featured for his country since Euro 2024.
Among the list include Premier League players Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade – both of Newcastle – Arsenal striker Kai Havertz, Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz and Brighton’s Pascal Gross.
Injured duo Serge Gnabry and Anton Stach and forwards Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Schade and Niclas Fullkrug are among those to miss out.
Germany’s World Cup squad in full
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Pascal Gross (Brighton), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has opened up on the club’s decision to appoint Xabi Alonso as their new manager.
The Blues confirmed the Spaniard as their next head coach following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with Alonso set to take charge ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Mikel had previously been vocal about Chelsea’s managerial philosophy, urging the club’s ownership to move away from short-term head coaches and interim appointments and instead bring in a proper manager with full control over the squad
Speaking on his most recent podcast, Mikel said:
“I am glad the owners listened to me, and listened to the fans.
“Forget about coaches, what we have always had are managers, and what we need is a manager who decides on the players he wants out and the players who can stay.
“We need a strong personality, and that is what we have got now in Alonso.
“That title has been changed from coach to manager, but I hope it’s not just words and he is actually allowed to manage the squad. But I am very happy with the appointment.”
Chelsea are still in the hunt for Europa League football, and a win over Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season would go a long way in determining whether Alonso inherits a European stage to build on next season.
Enzo Maresca is believed to have signed a three-year deal to replace outgoing Man City manager Pep Guardiola, after it was revealed that the legendary head coach will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season.
Speculation around Guardiola’s departure date has been rife as the season draws to a close, despite the Catalan having one year left on his contract.
According to report, Man City’s sponsors were among those to have been told that Guardiola will be calling time on a remarkable trophy-ladened spell on Sunday.
The report also shared that Maresca, Guardiola’s former assistant, was a front-runner for the vacant spot at the dugout, with Fabrizio Romano confirming on Tuesday morning that the ex-Chelsea manager will be taking over.
The Italian head coach has been out of work since his mutual departure from Stamford Bridge under strained circumstances on January 1.
But even before his acrimonious mid-season exit, Maresca has been viewed as a long-term successor to Guardiola following their stint working together at Man City.
The 46-year-old served as Guardiola’s assistant between 2022 and 2023 after previously coaching Man City’s youth sides, before departing to earn Championship promotion with Leicester.
Maresca then went on to win the Uefa Conference League and the Club World Cup with Chelsea during his 18-month spell in west London.
Guardiola is set to celebrate his time in English football with an open-top bus parade in Manchester after winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, but until Monday night, the manager had been notably vague over his future plans.
But before news broke of his shock exit, Guardiola had been keen to tamp down any suggestions that he would be commemorated with any fanfare.
‘The club don’t have to do anything, honestly,’ Guardiola, who has yet to officially confirm his departure, said. ‘The important thing in our lives is that when you look back, you can look with a big smile and say “that was good”.
‘Bernardo (Silva) and John (Stones) can feel that. We spoke about it over the last few days. When you’re old, a grandfather, you can look at the memories. That is the most important thing in life.’
Tired of addressing his contractual situation, Guardiola added with a dose of sarcasm: ‘Whatever happens at the end of the season – and when I extend my contract for three more years – I can look back and say, “how nice has that been?”
‘That is the most important thing by far. Most of the people who lived this time here together can feel it.’
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