logo
Al-Qaeda affiliate claims 200 soldiers killed in Burkina Faso attack

Al-Qaeda affiliate claims 200 soldiers killed in Burkina Faso attack

Al Jazeera15-05-2025

An al-Qaeda affiliate has claimed it killed 200 soldiers in an attack on a Burkina Faso army base this week, according to an NGO that tracks armed groups' online activity.
The base in the northern town of Djibo came under attack on Sunday morning, and a police station and market were also targeted, security sources told the news agency Reuters. Although there was no official toll, three Djibo residents told Reuters that dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed.
Al Jazeera was not able to independently verify the death toll. A Burkina Faso military source told Al Jazeera that the armed group was exaggerating the number of casualties.
The United States-based SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online activity of armed groups, said Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) made the claim in a formal statement.
'The operation comes amid increased JNIM activity in Burkina Faso over the past month inflicting a high number of casualties,' SITE said.
The organisation previously said Ousmane Dicko, head of JNIM in Burkina Faso, had appeared in a video urging residents of Djibo to leave the town for their own safety.
Reporting from Dakar, Senegal, Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque said the attack took place over a number of days.
'One of the major military outposts that was supposed to protect this town of about 200,000 people was razed to the ground, such was the firepower of the armed groups,' said Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting from Senegal, Dakar.
'This is one of the deadliest attacks in Burkina Faso, and it comes just as Ibrahim Traore [Burkina Faso's military leader] has been saying that the country has been gaining territory, encouraging people to go back to their homes, but this latest attack proves the opposite,' said Haque.
A video circulating on social media from the al-Qaeda affiliate warned people to leave their homes and said it would seize more territories.
'What we're seeing here is the pivot point where these armed groups that normally attack villages are now trying to take over towns. It's a major blow for Burkina Faso's armed forces,' Haque said, noting the attacks come just as Traore was visiting Russia, asking President Vladimir Putin for more training and arms to fight off armed groups.
JNIM claimed responsibility for another assault this week targeting a military post in Burkina Faso's northern Loroum province in which the group said 60 soldiers were killed, according to SITE.
The attacks highlight the difficulties the three Sahel nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, ruled by military leaders, are facing in containing the armed groups.
Burkina Faso authorities have not commented on the latest attacks.
A notable attack occurred in the Burkina town of Sole, where JNIM fighters raided the army military post and killed soldiers, SITE Intelligence said, without specifying on which day it took place.
A Military government took power in Burkina Faso in 2022, but they have largely failed to provide stability, as more than 60 percent of the country is estimated to be outside government control.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘I invested in a Ponzi scheme': Nigerians fall victim to crypto scams
‘I invested in a Ponzi scheme': Nigerians fall victim to crypto scams

Al Jazeera

timea day ago

  • Al Jazeera

‘I invested in a Ponzi scheme': Nigerians fall victim to crypto scams

Lagos, Nigeria — Mandela Fadahunsi, who works at a technical training school in Ikeja in Nigeria's Lagos, never believed he could fall victim to a Ponzi scheme. On April 6, the 26-year-old was starting his day when a WhatsApp notification lit up his phone screen. Someone on the group chat for investors of the cryptocurrency investment platform, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), had tried and failed to withdraw some funds, so they wanted to confirm if it was a general issue. Fadahunsi quickly logged on to his digital wallet and tried to withdraw 500 USDT, a cryptocurrency that stands for United States Dollar Tether, or simply Tether. But 24 hours later, a process that should have taken just 10 minutes was yet to complete. He knew then that something had gone wrong. He started to panic, but half-hoped it was just a glitch or a minor system error. 'They [CBEX administrators] said it was as a result of the excessive volume of people trying to withdraw, and that all withdrawals have been placed on hold until 15th of April,' Fadahunsi told Al Jazeera. On the 15th, he and fellow investors waited but heard nothing. On subsequent days, the administrators gave more excuses until the site stopped working altogether, and everyone's money disappeared without a trace. That is when he realised he had been scammed and might never be able to recover the 4,596 USDT stablecoin in his wallet. While Fadahunsi tallied his losses, the issue went viral on social media platforms. Many more Nigerians shared their stories of loss, while others mocked them for losing their money to scammers. Some members of the public, filled with rage, attacked and ransacked CBEX offices in Ibadan and Lagos. CBEX launched operations in Nigeria in July 2024, claiming to be able to generate immense trading profits using generative artificial intelligence. By January, it had gained serious popularity through referrals and smart advertising. Fadahunsi and thousands of other people invested with the hope of making a maximum profit – the scheme promised up to 100 percent return on investment after a 40- to 45-day maturation period. At the start, the scheme did pay out, and the testimonies of successful initial investors attracted more people to sign up. But after nine months of operation, the music stopped as the platform made away with an estimated 1.3 trillion naira ($840m), according to the official Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). It left investors stunned. Nigeria's anticorruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has since labelled CBEX a Ponzi scheme. Experts say the organisers of such scams usually promise to invest people's money in something that generates high returns, but in reality, it is investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new ones. Once a large number of people cash out, and new investors into the scheme dry up, it collapses. Ponzi schemes, including CBEX, are usually not backed by any discernible economic activity, experts say. According to Ikemesit Effiong, from the Lagos-based socioeconomic advisory firm, SBM Intelligence, most times these businesses do not have anything to sell and have no recognisable business models. Even the agriculture-based ones claim to have products that investigators are unable to track. They also largely rely on existing investors to bring in new investors who serve as their downlink in the pyramid scheme. Experts say that in Nigeria, widespread financial illiteracy, lax regulations, greed, economic hardship and peer pressure make investors susceptible to the machinations of Ponzi organisations that combine aggressive advertising, word-of-mouth campaigns charged by incentives, and initial high returns. But at the end, the schemes leave victims – many of whom invest their savings, business capital, and borrowed money – unable to do anything but watch their hard-earned money disappear. Fadahunsi first heard about the CBEX scheme from colleagues at the start of the year. Initially, he was hesitant. But a few days later, his neighbour also mentioned the platform. Recognising that his close associates were participating, and not wanting to miss out, he decided to invest. 'I also thought the money was just sitting in my account, and it could be somewhere where I can make some gains on my money,' he explained. In early February, he dipped into his rent savings and withdrew the entire 800,000 naira ($517). With that, he bought 500 USDT from the crypto exchange platform Buybit, receiving the coin in his digital CBEX wallet. Four times a day on the CBEX platform, administrators dropped a code, which they call a 'signal'. Investors were required to copy and paste the code into a section of their portal within the hour. CBEX said AI would then use that to make a trade, basically to buy and sell or change positions in such a way that it made a profit from price fluctuations on the investors' behalf. Each time Fadahunsi pasted in the code, he would get 4.7 to 5 USDT as a profit, all of which accumulated towards his returns. 'So the more you do it, the more the percentage increases. In a month, I got double of 500 USDT,' he said, adding that there were also bonuses for things like referrals. In March, users said CBEX made an adjustment where they no longer input the signal. Instead, investors just had to turn on an 'AI hosting' option at the start of the day. But some investors say this was likely just a ploy to keep them going, to convince them they were still making a profit before everything crashed in April. While some investors withdrew their returns, by the time CBEX crashed, Fadahunsi had not withdrawn any money. He had wanted to maximise the investment opportunity, to leave the funds to grow for five to six months before using them to buy a plot of land to build his future home. Now, that dream is dead. 'It is very hard, but thank God that my landlord is actually understanding,' he said. 'I am not proud of opening my mouth [to say] that I actually invested in a Ponzi scheme,' he lamented. 'If I wasn't greedy, I should have been able to withdraw two to three times on the platform, and it would have been successful.' Even before CBEX, Ponzi schemes were not new in Nigeria. In March, Nigeria's anticorruption agency published a list of 58 Ponzi schemes presently operating in the country, and advised the public to 'be vigilant and proactive'. This highlights the widespread presence of fraudulent entities masquerading as legitimate businesses in the country: in 23 years, Nigerians lost 911 billion naira ($589m) to Ponzi-related scams, the National Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), which protects the country's banking system, said in 2022. Often, Ponzi schemes are able to operate by leveraging grey areas, such as obtaining an irrelevant certification that exaggerates their significance or legitimacy. CBEX, for instance, obtained the EFCC's anti-money laundering certificate through the corporate identity of ST Technologies International Ltd, and paraded it as a kind of clearance for conducting business. However, the NFIU said CBEX was never granted a registration by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to operate as a Digital Assets Exchange, solicit investments from the public or perform any other function within the Nigerian capital market. Legitimate businesses can be verified by checking the SEC website. However, experts say the vast majority of those who invest in shady schemes seem unaware or uneducated about this – 38 percent of Nigerians are financially illiterate, according to a 2023 central bank report. At the same time, other victims may be willing participants, at least at first. Joachim MacEbong, a senior analyst at Stears, a Lagos-based financial advisory firm, said while some victims are unwitting, others intentionally walk into Ponzi schemes hoping to make a quick profit before it crashes. 'There are those who know it is a scam, but they always feel they could cash out before everybody else. And so they would make that calculation, and it is largely because of the situation in the country; there is a lot of hardship. This kind of hardship increases the people's desire to take risks and gamble with their very important funds,' he explained. Nigeria's economy has been on a downward spiral for decades, and is worse now that the country is going through its toughest economic downturn in about 30 years. Food prices have soared, and basic amenities are becoming inaccessible as the inflation rate sits at 23.71 percent. Against this backdrop, some see Ponzi schemes as a fast way to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty. Like the proverbial early bird, early investors benefitted from the CBEX scheme, multiplying their returns for several months. Although social media is agog with complaints and bitter disappointment, some people said they had been able to make major purchases such as land and cars from their investment. 'The time scale at which you enter the investment will determine whether it will be a good investment or you will be a victim,' said Effiong of SBM Intelligence, but he added that many new investors are unaware of this catch. Waris Oyedele is one of the people who invested their savings in CBEX because of worsening financial hardship in the country. When he realised that the investment had crashed, he wept. The 25-year-old comes from a low-income family. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University last year, but when he could not get a job, he started working as a shoemaker. In January, he invested his savings of 800,000 naira (500 USDT); by March he had made 1,200 USDT. He gave the returns to his younger brother to reinvest to help him pay for his future university studies, and in doing so, help ease their father's financial burden. 'I felt bad [when we lost the money] because we had a lot of plans on it,' Oyedele said. 'I had a plan of buying a computer and going into UI/UX. Now it has gone.' He is deeply affected by the situation and has reduced the way he spends his tiny income as he tries to rebuild his savings for future use and to support his brother. Ponzi schemes play on psychology and human instincts by making it seem as though easy money is within reach, Effiong of SBM said. All investments involve some form of greed, Effiong explained, and the promise of ending up with a higher return is one of the most elementary forms of human motivation: we all want more and as quickly as possible. 'What [a Ponzi scheme] does is that it also unlocks the deep-seated psychological bend for human beings to join groups – the obvious fear of missing out,' he said. 'It also thrives on really aggressive marketing – all of that is to prey on the psychology of potential investors to not slow down.' Over the years, Ponzi schemes have employed several techniques to appeal to people, even going the extra mile to try and build public trust and goodwill. CBEX, for example, organised a sports competition and ran scholarships for schoolchildren to throw off suspicion, experts said. In Nigeria, schemes rely heavily on existing investors who are incentivised to introduce new investors. They also engage in aggressive marketing using local and social media, sometimes involving radio, influencers and celebrity endorsements. Afrobeats stars Davido and Rema are some of the most popular celebrities to have unknowingly endorsed and made promo videos for Ponzi schemes in the past. Ponzi schemes are also becoming increasingly sophisticated and dynamic as they leverage the latest technologies and digital tools, experts say. 'Many of them have apps with wonderful user experiences, which lend an air of credibility to their enterprise. Many of these scammers go to great lengths to design their products in such a way that they look and appear credible,' Effiong said. MacEbong from Stears agreed, saying fake news and misinformation campaigns will become supercharged using AI tools, making it easier to hoodwink unsuspecting victims. 'There are numerous examples of generative AI being used to fool people who are even well informed and more savvy. When you turn these various tools against people with much lower exposure and information, they are practically defenceless,' MacEbong explained. Regulators such as the SEC must become more proactive and come up with agile tactics to rein in Ponzi schemes and protect the public from illegitimate enterprises and shut them down before they cause harm, experts told Al Jazeera. Businesses must be registered and thoroughly vetted because Ponzi schemes have been erroneously certified in the past, Effiong emphasised. 'There has to be a lot of financial education. Financial literacy is critical, which goes beyond how to make money, but [also] to educate the public on the tell-tale signs of Ponzi schemes. The responsibility also lies with the general public to educate themselves. If it sounds too good to be true, chances are it is too good to be true,' he said. On May 26, EFCC said it had recovered a portion of the money stolen by CBEX and arrested two individuals promoting it. Al Jazeera tried to contact CBEX for comment through its website and publicly available phone numbers, but all were unavailable or out of service. Meanwhile, many investors like Fadahunsi have lost hope and believe that the money they invested is all gone. 'Whatsoever the authorities retrieve, I am sure that nothing is going to come to me; I moved on already,' he said. 'That is a very tough lesson for me. [Now,] I would rather keep my money in my account and spend it till the last dime.'

Russia plans to boost economic and military ties in Africa
Russia plans to boost economic and military ties in Africa

Al Jazeera

time3 days ago

  • Al Jazeera

Russia plans to boost economic and military ties in Africa

Russia is working to enhance its economic and military ties in Africa, Moscow has outlined. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared on Monday that Russia's presence in Africa is 'growing'. The move is part of an ongoing bid by Moscow to step into a geopolitical vacuum in West Africa as Western powers retreat amid a series of military coups in the region. 'We really intend to comprehensively develop our interaction with African countries, focusing primarily on economic and investment interaction,' Peskov told reporters. 'This also corresponds to and extends to such sensitive areas as defence and security,' he added. Russia's growing security role in parts of Africa, including in countries such as Mali, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, is viewed with concern by the West, and has come at the expense of former colonial power France, whose forces have departed or been expelled from several West African countries over recent years, and the United States. The Kremlin's ambition appears undimmed by recent reports that Russian paramilitary group Wagner is leaving Mali after helping the military government fight armed groups. The Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force, said it will remain in the West African country in Wagner's place. Mali, ruled by a military government that seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, has never officially admitted Wagner's presence, insisting only that it was working with Russian instructors. During the same period, however, the government broke ties with France and pivoted towards Russia for political and military support. The Africa Corps was created with support from the Russian Ministry of Defence after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and commander Dmitry Utkin led a failed mutiny against the Russian army leadership in June 2023 and were killed two months later in a plane crash. According to several Telegram chats used by Russian mercenaries seen by the Reuters news agency, about 70 to 80 percent of the Africa Corps is made up of former Wagner members. Replacing Wagner with Africa Corps troops would likely shift Russia's focus in Mali from fighting alongside the Malian army to training, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. 'Africa Corps has a lighter footprint and focuses more on training, providing equipment and doing protection services. They fight less than the 'Rambo-type' Wagner mercenaries,' Laessing told The Associated Press news agency.

Yemen's Al Qaeda leader threatens Trump, Musk over Israel's war on Gaza
Yemen's Al Qaeda leader threatens Trump, Musk over Israel's war on Gaza

Qatar Tribune

time5 days ago

  • Qatar Tribune

Yemen's Al Qaeda leader threatens Trump, Musk over Israel's war on Gaza

The leader of Al Qaeda's Yemen branch has targeted US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk over United States backing for Israel's ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and its besieged Palestinian population. 'There are no red lines after what happened and is happening to our people in Gaza,' said Saad bin Atef Al Awlaki in a half-hour video message that was spread online on Saturday by supporters of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemeni branch of the armed group. 'Reciprocity is legitimate,' he said. The message featured images of Trump and Musk, US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, as well as logos of Musk's businesses – including electric carmaker Tesla. Born in 2009 from the merger of Al Qaeda's Yemeni and Saudi factions, AQAP is completely distinct from Yemen's Houthi rebel group, which controls most of the country and agreed to a ceasefire with the US earlier this month. AQAP grew and developed amid the chaos of Yemen's war, which has pitted the Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition backing the government since 2015. (Agencies)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store