(Bloomberg) -- Burkina Faso's prime minister stepped down as concerns over rising insecurity in the West African nation are escalating.
“Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba today presented his resignation and the resignation of his government to President Roch Marc Christian Kabore,” the presidency said Friday in a statement read on state television, Radio Television du Burkina. No explanation was given.
Burkina Faso has seen an increase in violent attacks by Islamist insurgents aiming to increase their influence in the Sahel, a semi-arid region stretching across Africa along the southern boundary of the Sahara. The government last week extended a state of emergency for six months in several regions affected by recurrent attacks by extremist groups.
Read more: Islamic State, al-Qaeda Support Fuels Attacks in West Africa
While most jihadist attacks in the region are originating in neighboring Mali, which was nearly overrun by an alliance of separatists and Islamist insurgents in 2012, the emergence of home-grown groups is stoking concern about growing regional destabilization.
--With assistance from Katarina Hoije.
To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Gongo in Ouagadougou at sgongo@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andre Janse van Vuuren at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net, James Amott
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