Burkina Faso: 40 Soldiers and Volunteers Killed in Attack

Facts

• On Saturday, at least six soldiers and 34 local volunteers were killed while 33 others were wounded in an attack by unknown gunmen in northern Burkina Faso, near the border with neighboring Mali.¹
• Local authorities said on Sunday that the attack on the soldiers and members of the self-defense group 'Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland' took place near the village of Aorema, about 15 km (9 miles) northeast of the city of Ouahigouya.²
• The army counter-attacked the suspected militants, reportedly killing at least 50 of them. A day later, another assault on a Burkinabe military detachment allegedly claimed the lives of two soldiers and lead to the death of approximately 20 militants.³
• This comes about a week after 44 civilians were killed by suspected 'armed terrorist groups' in the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi in the northeast of the Sahel country, which is grappling with an Islamist insurgency since violence spilled over from neighboring Mali in 2015.⁴
• Burkina Faso's military government on Thursday announced a 'general mobilisation [sic]' after interim Pres. Ibrahim Traoré pledged to retake areas controlled by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group, which are believed to account for 40% of the country's territory.⁵
• The government recently called on civilians to join local defense forces to combat the violence that left thousands dead and millions displaced. Having destabilized the Sahel region, the violence now threatens to spread to West African coastal states.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Trtworld, ³The defense post, ⁴Guardian, ⁵Firstpost and ⁶Voa.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Iol. The latest attack is a sad setback for Burkina Faso in its ongoing fight against terrorism. However, this doesn't change the fact that the government is on the right track after throwing out the French, who have been chronically unsuccessful in fighting jihadism for years while pursuing their neocolonial interests. Only a sovereign and truly independent Burkina Faso in a multipolar world will ultimately bring lasting security and peace to its people.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Stars and stripes. The jihadist attack is another indication that the security situation in Burkina Faso continues to deteriorate after the military junta forced France to leave the country. If the regime now turns to the Kremlin and its notorious Wagner mercenaries, it is safe to assume that the country's security will continue to deteriorate — including serious human rights violations. The junta has only itself to blame for Burkina Faso's increasing destabilization.