Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Prime Minister Thieba has been under pressure over a surge in militancy

The Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Paul Kaba Thieba, has resigned from office along with his entire cabinet.

No reason was given for the move, which was announced in a televised statement by the country's president.

Mr Thieba, a former economist, had held the position since January 2016 when he was nominated by President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

His government has faced growing pressure over a rise in the number of kidnappings and jihadist attacks.

Recent high-profile disappearances of foreign nationals have led to direct calls for Mr Thieba's resignation, as well as that of his defence and security ministers.

In his statement, President Kabore expressed his gratitude for their service. He said he hoped to form a new government soon.

A 34-year-old Canadian woman, Edith Blais, and an Italian man, Luca Tacchetto, 30, have been missing in the country since mid-December.

The pair were travelling to Togo to work with an aid group when they disappeared.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland met with the 34-year-old's family on Friday, one day after the announcement another missing Canadian had been found dead.

Kirk Woodman, a geologist, was abducted by gunmen on Tuesday night from a mine exploration camp in the country's north.

Image copyright Facebook/LinkedIn Image caption A photo of missing Luca Tacchetto (left) and Edith Blais (centre) and Kirk Woodman (right) who has been found dead

No one has so far claimed responsibility for his murder, but groups linked to al-Qaeda are known to operate in the area.

Burkina Faso, a poor land-locked nation in Africa's Sahel region, has seen a surge in Islamist militant activity in recent years.

There have been deadly attacks on a cafe and the French embassy in the country's capital, Ouagadougou.

Several northern provinces in its border regions have been under a state of emergency since 31 December.</s>OUAGADOUGOu: Burkina Faso's government and Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba stood down on Friday, according to a statement released by the country´s president.

No explanation was given for the resignations, though sources told AFP President Roch Marc Christian Kabore wants to breathe new life into the leadership of the landlocked west African country, which is battling a rising wave of jihadist attacks and hostage-taking.

Canadian Edith Blais, 34, and her Italian partner Luca Tacchetto, 30, have been missing since mid-December, and late Wednesday a Canadian geologist kidnapped by suspected jihadists was found dead at a remote gold mine in the northeast.

"Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba submitted this afternoon his resignation as well as that of his government," the statement said. "The president of Faso accepted the resignation" and expressed "all his gratitude to Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba and all its ministers for their commitment to the service of the nation," the statement added.

President Kabore chose experienced economist Thieba as prime minister in January 2016. However, in recent months several political opponents have been calling for his resignation and that of ministers in charge of security and defence.

Burkina Faso lies in the heart of the vast Sahel region, which is struggling with a bloody Islamist insurgency.</s>Burkina Faso’s government and Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba have resigned on Friday, according to a statement released by the country’s president.

No explanation was given for the resignations, though sources told AFP President Roch Marc Christian Kabore wants to breathe new life into the leadership of the landlocked west African country, which is battling a rising wave of jihadist attacks and hostage-taking.

Canadian Edith Blais, 34, and her Italian partner Luca Tacchetto, 30, have been missing since mid-December, and late Wednesday a Canadian geologist kidnapped by suspected jihadists was found dead at a remote gold mine in the northeast.

“Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba submitted this afternoon his resignation as well as that of his government,” the statement said.

“The president of Faso accepted the resignation” and expressed “all his gratitude to Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba and all its ministers for their commitment to the service of the nation,” the statement added.

President Kabore chose experienced economist Thieba as prime minister in January 2016. However, in recent months several political opponents have been calling for his resignation and that of ministers in charge of security and defence.

The region turned into a hotbed of violent extremism and lawlessness after chaos engulfed Libya in 2011.

An Islamist insurgency began in northern Mali, while Boko Haram rose in northern Nigeria.

Jihadist raids began in northern Burkina Faso in 2015 before spreading to the east, near the border with Togo and Benin.</s>Burkina Faso’s government and Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba have resigned, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said.

In a post on Twitter, Kabore said: “This afternoon I received the resignation of Prime Minister Paul Kaba Katy and his government. I thank them and congratulate them on their commitment to my side”.

No explanation was given for the resignations.

However, the AFP said the resignation could have been informed by Kabore’s plan to breathe new life into the leadership of the country, which is battling a rising wave of jihadist attacks and hostage-taking.

Canadian Edith Blais, 34, and her Italian partner Luca Tacchetto, 30, have been missing since mid-December, and late Wednesday a Canadian geologist kidnapped by suspected jihadists was found dead at a remote gold mine in the northeast.

President Kabore chose experienced economist Thieba as prime minister in January 2016. However, in recent months several political opponents have been calling for his resignation and that of ministers in charge of security and defence.

Burkina Faso lies in the heart of the vast Sahel region, which is struggling with a bloody Islamist insurgency.

The region turned into a hotbed of violent extremism and lawlessness after chaos engulfed Libya in 2011.

An Islamist insurgency began in northern Mali, while Boko Haram rose in northern Nigeria.

Jihadist raids began in northern Burkina Faso in 2015 before spreading to the east, near the border with Togo and Benin.</s>The cabinet of Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Kabore resigned on Friday, according to a statement read on national television, which gave no explanation for the move.

OUAGADOUGOU: The cabinet of Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Kabore resigned on Friday, according to a statement read on national television, which gave no explanation for the move.

Kabore accepted the resignations, the statement said, and is expected to form a new government soon.

Attacks by Islamist militants have surged in the previously peaceful West African country in recent months. A state of emergency has been in effect since Dec. 31 in several northern provinces near the borders with Mali and Niger.</s>No explanation was provided for the sudden resignation, which was made public in a televised statement by the nation's president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

"Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba submitted this afternoon his resignation as well as that of his government," the president reported. Kabore expressed "gratitude to Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba and all its ministers for their commitment to the service of the nation."

Thieba became the prime minister of the African nation in January 2016.

Recent disappearances of foreign nationals and jihadist attacks by Ansar ul Islam and the Group to Support Islam and Muslims, affiliated al-Qaeda, led to growing pressure for Thieba's resignation in recent weeks, according to BBC.

Canadian Edith Blais, 34, and her Italian companion Luca Tacchetto, 30, have been missing in the country since mid-December. The two were traveling by car in Burkina Faso between the town of Bobo-Dioulasso and the capital Ouagadougou when they went missing. According to AFP, Blais and Tacchetto were working on a reforestation project with aid group Zion'Gaia

On Wednesday, Canadian geologist Kirk Woodman, believed to be kidnapped by jihadists in the country, was found dead in a gold mine in the country's northeast region.

The Canadian citizen was abducted by gunmen on a mining site owned by Vancouver-based Progress Minerals, located about 20 kilometres away from Mansila in the Yagha province, according to a spokesperson for the West African nation's security ministry.

Last week, Burkina Faso authorities extended a state of emergency in several northern provinces over increased activities of Islamist groups in the region. The state of emergency was first declared by the president on December 31.

Over recent years, Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, has seen an increase in Islamist militant activity by groups in the region linked to al-Qaeda.</s>OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - The cabinet of Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Kabore resigned on Friday, according to a statement read on national television, which gave no explanation for the move.

Kabore accepted the resignations, the statement said, and is expected to form a new government soon.

Attacks by Islamist militants have surged in the previously peaceful West African country in recent months. A state of emergency has been in effect since Dec. 31 in several northern provinces near the borders with Mali and Niger.</s>Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau will meet Friday with the family of Edith Blais, who went missing in Burkina Faso and hasn’t been heard from since Dec. 15.

The 34-year-old Blais and her Italian friend Luca Tacchetto were travelling by car in southwestern Burkina Faso and were supposed to cross the border into Togo to do volunteer work with an aid group. A statement Wednesday by Burkina Faso Security Minister Clement Sawadogo referred to their disappearance as a kidnapping.

Blais’ mother and sister live in Sherbrooke, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers have been holding a cabinet retreat.

“We understand that they are going through a very, very difficult situation,” Bibeau said. “We want to reassure them that the Canadian government is doing everything that can be done to find Edith and Luca as quickly as possible.”

READ MORE: ‘A great guy’: Canadian killed in Burkina Faso mourned by family, friends

The ministers will meet with the Blais family the day after news broke that anoher Canadian, Kirk Woodman, had been found dead in Burkina Faso. He had been shot multiple times after he was kidnapped by militants. Woodman, originally from Halifax, worked for a Vancouver-based mining company.

Blais and Tacchetto set off in his car on Nov. 20 from the northern Italian town of Vigonza, outside Padua. They made their way to France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali before arriving in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso’s southwest.</s>Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau met Friday with family members of a Quebec woman who has been missing in Burkina Faso for more than a month.

Bibeau offered few details as she spoke to reporters after the meeting with the mother and sister of Edith Blais in Sherbrooke, Que.

READ MORE: Sherbrooke woman and boyfriend missing in Burkina Faso

“I will tell you it was very much a conversation ‘between mothers,'” a visibly shaken Bibeau said. “We talked a lot about Edith. Those are two extraordinary women who are very strong, and I believe they are reassured that our government is doing what has to be done in such circumstances.”

Blais’ mother and sister declined to speak to media before or after meeting the ministers.

The 34-year-old Blais and her Italian friend Luca Tacchetto have not been heard from since Dec. 15. They were travelling by car in southwestern Burkina Faso en route to Togo, where they planned to do volunteer work with an aid group.

A statement Wednesday by Burkina Faso Security Minister Clement Sawadogo referred to the disappearance of Blais and Tacchetto as a kidnapping. The Canadian government has not confirmed the information, and Bibeau said only that it is not ruling out any possibilities.

The meeting came the day after another Canadian, Kirk Woodman, was found dead in northern Burkina Faso, close to the border with Mali and Niger. An executive with a Vancouver-based mining company, Woodman had been kidnapped a day earlier by gunmen as he worked on a gold mining project.

READ MORE: Canadian killed in Burkina Faso mourned by family, friends

Blais and Tacchetto set off in his car on Nov. 20 from the northern Italian town of Vigonza, outside Padua. They travelled through France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali before arriving in Burkina Faso. They were last seen in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso in the country’s southwest.

Blais’ mother and sister live in Sherbrooke, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have been meeting this week.</s>OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — A Canadian national has been found dead a day after reports of his kidnapping by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso's volatile north near the Niger border, the West African nation's security ministry said Thursday.

The ministry said Kirk Woodman's body was found 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the site where he worked for Progress Mineral Mining Company.

Woodman's son, Matt Woodman, emailed The Associated Press confirming his father's death.

"Kirk was a loving and hardworking husband, father, son and brother," he said in the email. "Not a day will go by that he won't be missed. Our family would like to thank everyone for the love and support we've received, but we ask for privacy while we grieve during this difficult time."

Woodman was kidnapped Tuesday night during a raid on a mining site in Tiabongou, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mansila in Yagha province.

The prefect of the rural commune of Sebba in that province, Felix Ouedraogo, said the body of a white man riddled with bullets was transferred to a hospital in Dori by defense and security services.

Burkina Faso recently declared a state of emergency in the region as attacks by Islamic extremists increase.

The country's foreign minister, Alpha Barry, said it was with great emotion and sorrow that the government learned of Woodman's death.

"The government of Burkina condemns with the utmost energy this cowardly assassination and reassures that an investigation is opened and all the measures will be taken to find and punish the guilty," he said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Woodman was vice-president of exploration for Progress Minerals, according to his LinkedIn page.

"This is a terrible crime and Canada is absolutely committed to working with the authorities in Burkina Faso to bring those responsible to justice," said Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. "Our first thought is with his family and friends who received really dreadful news."

West Africa's vast Sahel region has seen a number of abductions of foreigners in recent years by extremists linked to al-Qaida or the Islamic State organization.

Woodman is the second Canadian to go missing in Burkina Faso in recent weeks, according to Burkina Faso Security Minister Clement Sawadogo.

Quebec resident Edith Blais, 34, and her Italian friend Luca Tacchetto were travelling by car in the southwest when all communication with their families abruptly ended Dec. 15.

Sawadogo referred to their disappearance as a kidnapping.

Burkina Faso's security situation worsened last year with an attack on the army headquarters and the French Embassy in March. The extremist threat has shifted from the northern Sahel region, home to radicalized local preacher Ibrahim Malam Dicko, into the forested east near the border with Niger.

Burkina Faso is part of a five-nation regional counterterror force, the G5 Sahel, launched in 2017.
President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré announces in a televised statement that Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba and the cabinet have resigned from their positions effective immediately. No reason is given.