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.“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.