Burkina Faso witnessed a dangerous escalation in violence over the past weekend, as armed groups suspected of belonging to jihadist organizations launched a series of coordinated attacks on military sites in the north and east of the country, killing at least ten people, including soldiers and civilian army assistants, according to concurring security sources.
Details of the recent attacks
The attacks targeted several locations almost simultaneously, indicating a high level of coordination among the attackers. On Saturday, a group of hundreds of armed men attacked a military post in Titao, the capital of Loroum region in the north of the country, destroying technical facilities and part of the camp. In another attack, a military post in Tandjari, eastern Burkina Faso, suffered similar casualties among water and forestry personnel. Security sources also confirmed a third attack on Thursday targeting a military detachment in Belanga, also in the east of the country, which resulted in the deaths of approximately ten soldiers and civilian volunteers.
General context: A deep-rooted security crisis
These attacks come amid a complex security and humanitarian crisis that has plagued Burkina Faso and the Sahel region of Africa since 2015. The unrest began in neighboring Mali in 2012 and quickly spread to Burkina Faso and Niger, fueled by the activities of extremist groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS, such as Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). This crisis has led to political instability, including two military coups in Burkina Faso in 2022, which brought Captain Ibrahim Traoré to power, promising to restore security and liberate the territories controlled by armed groups.
Local and regional influences
Domestically, the ongoing violence has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, claiming the lives of tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers and forcing more than two million people to flee their homes, according to UN figures. It has also led to the closure of thousands of schools and health centers and exacerbated the food crisis in besieged areas. Regionally, the deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso threatens to destabilize other West African coastal states, such as Ghana, Togo, and Benin, which have begun experiencing sporadic attacks on their territories. These shared challenges have prompted Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to form the “Sahel Alliance” as a new framework for military cooperation and joint defense, following their withdrawal from the G5 Sahel and the deterioration of their relations with Western powers, particularly France.
Ongoing challenges and an uncertain future
Despite promises from the ruling military junta to restore security, attacks remain frequent and increasingly deadly, raising questions about the effectiveness of current military strategies. Recent attacks demonstrate the ability of armed groups to launch coordinated and large-scale operations, placing immense pressure on the Burkinabe armed forces and the civilian volunteers fighting alongside them, and foreshadowing an uncertain security future for the country and the entire region.
