Burkina Faso - Ghana News Express

Burkina Faso Extends Condolences to Ghana Over Helicopter Crash Tragedy

8Aug

By ghnewsexpressNo Comments

News

Burkina Faso Extends Condolences to Ghana Over Helicopter Crash Tragedy

The Government of Burkina Faso has expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of Ghana’s Minister of Defense, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, and Minister of Environment, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, in a helicopter crash on August 6, 2025, which also claimed six other lives. In a press release issued from Ouagadougou on Thursday, August 7, and signed by Government Spokesperson Pingdwendé Gilbert Ouédraogo, Burkina Faso described the incident as a tragedy that has plunged the Ghanaian nation into mourning. “The Burkinabe Government extends its sincere condolences to the Government and the brotherly people of Ghana,” the statement read, adding that Burkina Faso shares in the grief of the bereaved families and expresses compassion to all affected by the disaster. The government reaffirmed its ...

Burkina Faso military rulers scrap electoral commission, taking control of future polls

Burkina Faso's military rulers have disbanded the country's electoral commission calling it a waste of money. The interior ministry will handle elections in the future, state-run RTB TV reported. Since seizing power in September 2022, the coup leaders have initiated sweeping reforms, including the postponement of elections which would lead to a return to civilian rule. A nationwide vote was due last year, but the junta extended the period of transition to democracy until July 2029, allowing leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré to remain in power and free to contest the next presidential election. The AFP news agency quotes Territorial Administration Minister Emile Zerbo as saying that the electoral commission was "subsidised" with around $870,000 (£650,000) a year. Abolishing the comm...

‘I thought I would die’ – freed captive tells BBC of life in West African jihadist base

A man from Ghana has told the BBC how he was seized at gunpoint by jihadists in neighbouring Burkina Faso, before being taken to their vast desert camp where he gained a rare insight into their lives - from the children he believed were trained as suicide bombers, to the tunnels they had dug to shield themselves and their armoured tanks from air strikes. In his first media interview since his 2019 ordeal, the man - whom we are calling James to protect his identity - said his first day at the camp was terrifying as a huge number of Islamist fighters returned from an operation, firing shots in the air. "I thought that was the end. I was just sweating," James said, adding that he also ended up wetting his pants when some fighters hit him with their guns - and laughed. James, wh...