Two Spanish journalists and Irishman killed after jihadist kidnapping attempt
Two Spanish journalists, an Irish conservationist and a Burkinabè soldier have reportedly been killed after suspected jihadists attacked their convoy in eastern Burkina Faso.
The Irishman was named as Rory Young, the co-founder and president of Chengeta Wildlife, an anti-poaching organisation, according to RTÉ, the Irish state broadcaster.
Mr Young was born in Zambia and "dedicated his life to wildlife protection", the organisation's website states. It describes him as "an expert tracker with amazing knowledge, skills and highly developed intuition", and says he was "one of the best in his field". The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said it had been in contact with the family of the Irish citizen but did not name him.
The Spanish government confirmed the deaths of the journalists, named as correspondent David Beriain and cameraman Roberto Fraile. Both were experienced journalists who had worked frequently in hostile environments.
Nusrat-al-Islam (JNIM), a jihadist umbrella group allied to Al Qaeda, has unofficially claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to a local official, they were filming a documentary about anti-poaching efforts around the Fada N'Gourma-Pama area with a group of soldiers and forest rangers who made up a special military wildlife unit.
The attack took place around 9 am on the road. The journalists were travelling in a convoy made up of two pick-up vehicles and about 20 motorcycles, which had set off from the town of Natiaboani that morning.
David Beriain and Roberto Fraile got out of their pick-up to prepare to take aerial photographs with a drone near Arli National Park when the attack began. Two vans and ten motorcycles with armed men appeared and began shooting, causing the members of the convoy to disperse, according to security sources quoted by the Spanish newspaper El País.
Members of the escort and a foreign national who was injured managed to return to Natiaboani town.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted: "The worst possible news is confirmed. All our affection for the relatives and friends of David Beriain and Roberto Fraile, murdered in Burkina Faso. And our recognition of those who, like them, on a daily basis carry out brave and vital journalism from conflict areas.”
The death of an Irish conservationist has also been widely reported. However, the news had not been officially confirmed when The Telegraph went to press.
A security source confirmed that the Westerners "were working on behalf of an NGO protecting the environment" in the country, without naming the organisation.
Burkina Faso was once an isle of stability in west Africa. But since 2015, jihadists under pressure from French and United Nations troops to the north in neighbouring Mali have slowly seeped across the border.
The jihadists, some of whom are allied to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, have exploited the cracks left by decades of state decay and underinvestment to turn communities against each other.
Random attacks have gradually pushed the beleaguered government forces back ever closer to the capital, leaving villagers to fend for themselves in no man’s land. Thousands have been killed in the violence, and more than a million to flee their homes.
The country is now widely regarded as one of the most dangerous places on earth. Much of the east of the country, where the Spaniards were killed, has been largely off-limits to Western journalists for years.
Foreign correspondents based in the Ouagadougou sometimes travel east to report on the region’s hidden displacement crisis and how artisanal gold mines fund jihadi groups. But such forays are rare and full of risks.
The Telegraph knows of at least one incident where armed groups in northern Burkina Faso used a handheld drone to follow journalists through the bush before attempting to ambush them with motorbikes.
