Tag: Burkina Faso

A report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) indicates that Islamist insurgents in Burkina Faso have intensified their attacks on civilians, engaging in door-to-door killings, throat-slitting, and targeting Christian worshippers.

The report cited statistics revealing that over 6,000 deaths have occurred in the West African nation in the first eight months of this year, including approximately 1,000 civilians killed by Islamist militants.

Since 2016, Burkina Faso has been grappling with jihadist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS).

After Captain Ibrahim Traoré took power in a coup two years ago, he promised to address the severe security challenges within “two to three months.” Nevertheless, the violence has only increased since then.

Released on Wednesday, HRW’s report documents gruesome atrocities committed by jihadists.

Attacks are often carried out in retaliation against communities who have refused to join the ranks of the jihadists or have been accused of collaborating with government troops, HRW said.

A February attack on church worshippers in the north-eastern village of Essakane left 12 dead.

“I saw a huge pool of blood and traces of blood all over the church, as well as bullet marks on the benches,” one survivor, who lost his brother at the hands of the assailants, was quoted as saying.

The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), one of the key militant groups in Burkina Faso, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Al-Qaeda linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) fighters were also highlighted several times in the report.

“The jihadists opened fire in the village indiscriminately,” said a 35-year-old farmer who witnessed an attack by alleged JNIM fighters in the town of Sindo, Hauts-Bassins region, on June 11.

“We found bodies in the village, on the outskirts and in the bush.… Some were shot, others had their throats slit,” another resident said.

Witnesses also said that in June, militants stormed the town of Mansila after killing dozens of soldiers at an army base nearby. The locals told HRW that jihadists went door-to-door, ordering people out of their homes and killing men they accused of collaborating with the army.

HRW said that Burkina Faso’s army and civilian groups affiliated to it have also committed atrocities during operations against the insurgents.

A previous report from the watchdog accused the Burkinabè military of massacring at least 223 civilians in February.

Large swathes of the West African country are run by the jihadist groups, leaving the government in control of just roughly half of nation.

Quoted in HRW’s report, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) has recorded more than 6,000 deaths in the first eight months of the year, including around 1,000 civilians killed by jihadist groups.

These figures do not include the 100 to 400 civilians killed in an attack on August 24 in the northern town of Barsalogho, HRW said.

JNIM claimed responsibility for the massacre.

Experts told the BBC that the scale of the Barsalogho attack points to a larger problem in the Burkina Faso’s security architecture.

“The country is yet to come up with a security strategy that can defend not just the people, but also its territorial integrity,” said David Otto, an international defence and security analyst.

Ryan Cummings, who has co-written a book on the Islamic State in Africa, said: “We often hear reports by some commanders in the Burkina Faso military that they have less ammunition than what the insurgents have access to, and that’s a worrying development.”

Burkina Faso has pivoted towards Russia for military aid after breaking its decades-old alliance with former colonial power France.

It has also formed an alliance with two other pro-Russian juntas in the region – Mali and Niger – to fight the jihadists.

Mr Otto says the three juntas have still been unable to consolidate their power, making it difficult for them to focus on the jihadist threat.

Mr Cummings said that successive governments had not done enough to professionalise Burkina Faso’s armed forces, leaving troops without adequate training and weapons.

The insurgents operate across the region, and JNIM claimed responsibility for an assault on Mali’s capital, Bamako, on Tuesday.

A military training school and the country’s main airport were attacked.

The army acknowledged suffering losses but did not specify the number of casualties.

Speculation regarding internal unrest within Burkina Faso’s security forces has intensified following an attack on an army base, allegedly resulting in the deaths of over 100 soldiers.

This comes as the country remains under military rule since 2022. The leader of the military junta has made an appearance on state television to dispel these rumors.

Burkina Faso has been grappling with Islamist insurgency for years, with approximately half of the nation beyond government control.

The jihadist group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has claimed responsibility for the attack in the northern town of Mansila, which occurred last Tuesday.

The day after the assault, there was an explosion near the state television headquarters.

Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have declared their intention to establish a joint force to combat jihadist threats within their borders, as announced by Niger’s army chief Moussa Salaou Barmou.

The specifics regarding the size and operational details of this force were not disclosed during Barmou’s televised speech on Wednesday, following discussions held in the capital Niamey.

Over the past year, groups affiliated with both Islamic State and al-Qaeda have perpetrated numerous deadly attacks in the region.

The military administrations of these three nations have forged increasingly close ties in recent months, culminating in the formation of a mutual defense pact known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) last September, leading to their withdrawal from the international G5 force established to combat Islamist extremism in the region.

Despite promises by the military regimes to address the decade-long conflict with jihadist groups, violence in West Africa’s Sahel region has escalated. Furthermore, all three countries have severed their relationships with France, their former colonial power, which maintained a significant military presence in the Sahel for years.

Mali’s leaders have also instructed the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma to withdraw “without delay,” a process that was completed in December.

In response, the military regimes have strengthened their ties with Russia, which has stepped in to fill the resulting vacuum.

Additionally, they have announced their departure from the West African economic bloc Ecowas, having previously been suspended from it.

Ecowas has been urging the military regimes to swiftly return to democratic governance and has imposed travel and economic sanctions on them, some of which were recently lifted or relaxed as part of Ecowas’s efforts to promote dialogue.

She said Mr Baldwin would argue that “it was not foreseeable that there was a real bullet in that gun”.

After mutinous soldiers in Gabon declared the ousting of the country’s president, many residents celebrated in the streets, feeling liberated from the 55-year rule of the presidential family. This scene has become increasingly familiar in West and Central Africa, which has witnessed eight coups since 2020.

These military takeovers are often a response to diminishing democratic dividends, driven by flawed elections, leaders seeking term extensions, and misgovernance that erodes civic space. This has led to widespread resentment and frustration among citizens, with many of the affected countries being among the least developed in the world.

The disappointment in democratic rule and the failure of leaders to significantly improve the lives of their populations have left people desperate, making them open to military rule. Recent surveys have shown declining support for democracy and elections in Africa, with a significant correlation between perceived presidential corruption and dissatisfaction with democracy.

While international sanctions are imposed to reverse coups in Africa, they often result in more hardship for the population. Analysts emphasize that military regimes are not the answer, and efforts should focus on entrenching democracies. While coups may seem initially popular, they have not proven to be a better alternative for good governance, as seen in countries like Mali and Burkina Faso. Military regimes have been associated with security challenges, economic slowdowns, and human rights abuses.

In summary, the resurgence of military takeovers in Africa is driven by dissatisfaction with democracy and governance. While coups may garner initial support, they often lead to instability and setbacks in various aspects of a country’s development. Efforts should prioritize strengthening democratic institutions to address the root causes of these coups.