Burkina Faso During March 2017 the Government of Burkina Faso announced its intention to withdraw its 850 troops from UNAMID, citing the increasing threat presented by radical jihadists it faced at home.[44] Canada[45] Ireland[46] Norway[47] South Africa South Africa withdrew their troops from UNAMID from 1 April 2016 after nearly 12 years of deployments to Darfur. The first deployment of South African military observers to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) dating back to July 2004.[48] A South African Government statement gave the reason for the recall of its troops as: "The Sudanese government made it increasingly difficult for us to provide logistic support to our troops, and impossible for our forces to protect the women and children of that country".[49]