Tue, 25 January 2022,
Attacks by jihadists linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group have killed thousands and displaced an estimated 1.5 million people in Burkina Faso since 2015. Members of the army, critical of the government's strategy for battling Islamist terrorism, detained the president and seized power on January 23. FRANCE 24 takes a look at how the security crisis unfolded.
Members of the armed forces ousted the Burkinabe government on Sunday, accusing it of failure in the fight against terrorism. For months a rebellion had been brewing in the army that was supported by many civilians, with anti-government protests in several cities often banned and dispersed by anti-riot police.
Anger over the deteriorating security situation and the government's inability to stem the jihadist violence boiled over on Sunday, with several rebellions erupting across the west African country. Mutinous soldiers demanded the resignation of army leaders and greater resources for the fight against jihadists while protesters set fire to the ruling party’s headquarters in the capital Ouagadougou.
The government announced a curfew on Sunday and uncertainty remained around the fate of President Roch Koboré, who is believed to have been detained by members of the military. In power since 2015, he was re-elected in 2020 on a pledge to make the fight against jihadists a priority. Kaboré had vowed to put an end to “dysfunction” in the army after a series of attacks on security forces and to introduce anti-corruption measures.
But the north and east of Burkina Faso, in the volatile region near Niger and Mali, remain prone to terrorist attacks by Nusrat al-Islam (an off-shoot of al Qaeda) and the Islamic State group in the Greater Sahara.
Between 2015 and 2018, terrorist attacks targeted the capital Ouagadougou and other centres of power. Since 2019, attacks by mobile combat units targeted mostly rural zones in the north and east of the country, fuelling displacements en masse and intercommunal violence. Some 2,000 people were killed, among them civilians and members of the armed forces or the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland, a civilian auxiliary group of the army created in 2020.
Islamist militants now move freely across entire swaths of the country and have forced inhabitants of some regions to conform to a strict version of Islamic law. Meanwhile, the army’s continuing fight against the Islamists has depleted the country’s already meagre resources.
A timeline of jihadist violence in Burkina Faso
On January 15, 2016, 30 people were killed in a double terrorist attack perpetrated by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on the Splendid Hotel and the Cappuccino restaurant in Ouagadougou. Many of the victims were Western expatriates.
On March 2, 2018, eight deaths among the security forces were reported after attacks targeting the French embassy and the Burkinabe Armed Forces.
On January 1, 2019, the Fulani ethnic group, accused of collaborating with jihadist groups, was targeted by the Mossi, another ethnic group, in an attack that left 72 people dead, according to official estimates. Another 6,000 were forced to flee.
On August 19, 2019, 24 soldiers were killed in an attack on an army base in Koutougou in the north of the country. The army was targeted again in December in a new attack by heavily armed jihadists on and around Arabinda, a city near the border with Mali.
On January 25, 2020, 39 civilians were massacred in the village market of Silgadji in the north of the country. Around 40 civilians were killed the week before in villages close to Nagraogo and Alamou.
From March to June 2021, a series of mutinies shook the Burkinabe capital: 566 soldiers were decommissioned and a new army chief was nominated by the president.
On June 5, 2021, at least 160 people were killed in a new massacre. Many victims were members of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland army auxiliary group.
On November 14, 2021, 57 people were killed in an attack on the police station in Inata, 54 of whom were police officers. They had alerted authorities about a lack of resources two weeks before the attack.
On December 10, 2021, Lassina Zerbo was nominated prime minister after the resignation of his predecessor following criticism that he had been incapable of stopping terrorist violence.
On January 11, 2022, eight soldiers accused of planning “a project to destabilise the institutions of the republic” were arrested.
This article was translated from the original in French.
Burkina Faso: from popular uprising to military coup
(AFP/Sophie RAMIS)
Mon, January 24, 2022
As Burkina Faso's junta consolidates its position after seizing power in a coup, we look at the recent history of the troubled West African country.
- 2014: Fall of Compaore -
Blaise Compaore takes power in a 1987 coup and cements his position four years later with the first of four election victories. But his 2010 win is contested, as is his attempt to amend the constitution to extend his rule. After being forced out by street protests in 2014, he flees to Ivory Coast. On November 29, 2015, former prime minister Roch Marc Christian Kabore is elected president.
- 2015: Jihadist attacks -
From 2015, the north of the country, the capital Ouagadougou and the east begin to suffer attacks and kidnappings by jihadists affiliated to Al-Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State.
On January 15, 2016, an attack on the Splendid hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou leave 30 dead, most of them Westerners, shocking the country.
In November 2017, the French-backed G5 anti-jihadist force starts joint cross-border operations in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
- 2018: Attacks intensify
On March 2, 2018, simultaneous attacks target French forces and the former colonial power's embassy, leaving eight soldiers dead and 85 people injured.
The end of that year sees a state of emergency declared in several provinces.
From 2019, the attacks become almost daily, prompting the sacking of the head of the armed forces and formation of a new government.
On December 24, 42 people die in an attack by 200 jihadists on a military base in Arbinda, near the border with Mali.
- 2020: Kabore re-elected -
Kabore is re-elected on November 22, 2020, but insecurity means hundreds of thousands of people are unable to vote.
The opposition accuse the president of election fraud and refuse to recognise the result.
- 2021: Death toll soars -
Between 132 and 160 people are killed in a June 2021 raid on the northeastern village of Solhan in the worst attack in six years.
The killings spark demonstrations against insecurity and the ministers of defence and security are both fired.
On August 18, an attack in the north leaves 65 civilians and 15 police dead.
In October the president replaces the military chief of staff. A trial also begins into the killing 34 years earlier of charismatic former president Thomas Sankara, the "African Che Guevara". Compaore, the main accused, is not present.
On November 14, at least 57 people, 53 of them gendarmes, are massacred in an assault on a police station at Inata in the north, sparking further protests.
Burkinabe and Niger military say they eliminated around 100 "terrorists" during an operation on their common border between November 25 and December 9.
- Government reshuffle -
December 8, the prime minister resigns and hands the reins to Lassina Zerbo, who urges national unity.
On December 23, 41 people are killed in yet another jihadist attack in the north.
The past month sees n a further spate of attacks and rumblings of discontent in the ranks of the armed forces echoing those in the wider population.
- 2022: Military takeover -
On January 22, police in Ouagadougou clash with demonstrators at a banned protest over the government's handling of the jihadist threat.
The following day soldiers at several army barracks stage a revolt but the government denies a coup is under way.
On Monday, Kabore is arrested by mutinous soldiers after gunshots are heard near his private residence.
A group of officers later go on television to announce that the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (MPSR) -- the name of a junta led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba -- is in control.
The United Nations, France and regional bloc ECOWAS all condemn the coup.
acm-ang-jba-fg/pvh/ri
(AFP/Sophie RAMIS)
Mon, January 24, 2022
As Burkina Faso's junta consolidates its position after seizing power in a coup, we look at the recent history of the troubled West African country.
- 2014: Fall of Compaore -
Blaise Compaore takes power in a 1987 coup and cements his position four years later with the first of four election victories. But his 2010 win is contested, as is his attempt to amend the constitution to extend his rule. After being forced out by street protests in 2014, he flees to Ivory Coast. On November 29, 2015, former prime minister Roch Marc Christian Kabore is elected president.
- 2015: Jihadist attacks -
From 2015, the north of the country, the capital Ouagadougou and the east begin to suffer attacks and kidnappings by jihadists affiliated to Al-Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State.
On January 15, 2016, an attack on the Splendid hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou leave 30 dead, most of them Westerners, shocking the country.
In November 2017, the French-backed G5 anti-jihadist force starts joint cross-border operations in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
- 2018: Attacks intensify
On March 2, 2018, simultaneous attacks target French forces and the former colonial power's embassy, leaving eight soldiers dead and 85 people injured.
The end of that year sees a state of emergency declared in several provinces.
From 2019, the attacks become almost daily, prompting the sacking of the head of the armed forces and formation of a new government.
On December 24, 42 people die in an attack by 200 jihadists on a military base in Arbinda, near the border with Mali.
- 2020: Kabore re-elected -
Kabore is re-elected on November 22, 2020, but insecurity means hundreds of thousands of people are unable to vote.
The opposition accuse the president of election fraud and refuse to recognise the result.
- 2021: Death toll soars -
Between 132 and 160 people are killed in a June 2021 raid on the northeastern village of Solhan in the worst attack in six years.
The killings spark demonstrations against insecurity and the ministers of defence and security are both fired.
On August 18, an attack in the north leaves 65 civilians and 15 police dead.
In October the president replaces the military chief of staff. A trial also begins into the killing 34 years earlier of charismatic former president Thomas Sankara, the "African Che Guevara". Compaore, the main accused, is not present.
On November 14, at least 57 people, 53 of them gendarmes, are massacred in an assault on a police station at Inata in the north, sparking further protests.
Burkinabe and Niger military say they eliminated around 100 "terrorists" during an operation on their common border between November 25 and December 9.
- Government reshuffle -
December 8, the prime minister resigns and hands the reins to Lassina Zerbo, who urges national unity.
On December 23, 41 people are killed in yet another jihadist attack in the north.
The past month sees n a further spate of attacks and rumblings of discontent in the ranks of the armed forces echoing those in the wider population.
- 2022: Military takeover -
On January 22, police in Ouagadougou clash with demonstrators at a banned protest over the government's handling of the jihadist threat.
The following day soldiers at several army barracks stage a revolt but the government denies a coup is under way.
On Monday, Kabore is arrested by mutinous soldiers after gunshots are heard near his private residence.
A group of officers later go on television to announce that the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (MPSR) -- the name of a junta led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba -- is in control.
The United Nations, France and regional bloc ECOWAS all condemn the coup.
acm-ang-jba-fg/pvh/ri
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