Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister and government resigns

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 move, which was announced in a televised statement.

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 Thieba's resignation, as well as that of his defense and security ministers.

Canadian Edith Blais, 34, and her Italian partner Luca Tacchetto, 30, have been missing since mid-December.

The pair were traveling 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.

A Canadian geologist, Kirk Woodman, who was kidnapped by suspected jihadists on Tuesday was later found dead at a remote gold mine in the country’s Northeast.

"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.

He said he hoped to form a new government soon.

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.