Source : Sahel weather October 2024 

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In Burkina Faso, the question of the Ivorian neighbor's attempt to destabilize the country has resurfaced and taken on a new twist. The Burkinabe government has brandished evidence to the attention of the population and the international community. On national television (Radiodiffusion Télévision Burkinabè), the authorities transmitted a video showing the confession obtained from Major Ahmad Kinda following his arrest. Kinda is the former head of the Special Forces and is considered to be one of the “brains behind the latest attempt to destabilize the country”. There is no shortage of criticism of the government's attitude. But the junta's supporters do not seem to approve of the attacks on the country's leaders. These supporters of the military regime are hunting down voices critical of the regime, issuing threats and sometimes attacking recalcitrants. They are called the Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide de la Communication (BIR), with the aim of defending the ruling military. Detractors are now warned against their actions and allegations against the current government. Treason is now a crime. Taking part in the day of patriotic commitment, the Head of State was keen to denounce what he described as the most serious crime against the Nation. He took advantage of this solemn occasion to cite the assassination of former strongman Thomas Sankara as an example of state treason. In a fitting tribute, the people's representatives voted unanimously on October 29 to revise Burkina Faso's motto. From “Unité - Progrès - Justice” to “La Patrie ou la mort, nous vaincrons”.

On the security front, arrests for terrorism continue to generate debate, with the conviction of eleven people. On October 4, a communiqué from the Pôle Judiciaire specializing in the repression of acts of terrorism announced that eleven people had been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7 to 21 years, with fines ranging from two to five million FCFA. The new authorities seem to have taken the issue of bringing terrorists to trial head-on, with 67 cases involving 110 people (press release). Despite all these arrests, terrorism continues to gain ground, plunging the population into insecurity. It is largely this situation that explains the wave of refugees seeking refuge in the north of Côte d'Ivoire. At the same time, the army's civilian auxiliaries have been targeting the Peul ethnic group, increasing the number of refugees in this part of the country. Meanwhile, in the vicinity of Markoye, a large-scale operation enabled the army to catch terrorists on October 10. Adama Oumarou, mastermind of the Islamic State in the Great Sahara, was neutralized along with some twenty of his acolytes.

Addressing the nation on October 5, the President of Burkina Faso's transitional government took advantage of the second anniversary of his accession to power to announce new equipment for the army to better secure a country beset by growing insecurity. He promised ten times more effective military equipment and an increase in manpower to reconquer areas which, it should be remembered, are for the most part occupied by jihadists. The day after he addressed his compatriots, an attack was recorded in the north-east of the country in Manni. This deadly attack, which targeted the town's main market and left at least 10 people dead and more than fifty wounded, is of growing concern to the population, who are in deep distress. Another attack killed 79 people in Seytenga, plunging the country into a three-day national mourning period. The month was also marked by the kidnapping, on October 10, of two lawyers, Me Gontrand Somé and Me Christian Kaboré, on the RN1 on their way to Bobo. The Defense and Security Forces (FDS) seem to have taken the problem of insecurity seriously, even if the situation remains worrying. It should be noted that the new authorities have turned to Russia for a military partnership following the “failure” of Western countries, notably France, to combat terrorism in the Sahel countries. Terrorist attacks have multiplied under the Traoré era, leaving the population deeply insecure, with the number of terrorist attacks rising to 2,900 over a two-year period.