Soldiers loyal to Burkina Faso's coup leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore, in Oct., 2022. More than half of all insurgent-related deaths in the Sahel region have occurred in Burkina Faso, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project says.

The heavily armed Islamist rebels, some with grenade launchers or bandoliers of ammunition strapped across their chests, assembled in a vast column of motorcycles on the grasslands of central Mali. Then they roared off. Their target: a nearby military base.

Within hours, the insurgents had captured the base, seizing an arsenal of machine guns and army vehicles. Video clips, posted by the militants later, showed smoke billowing from fires across the base as they celebrated their victory.

The assault on Farabougou army base on Aug. 19 was just the latest i

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