Source : Sahel weather

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The month of June has seen an upsurge in terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso. Following the Mansila attack in the north-east of the country on June 11, which killed around 100 Burkinabè soldiers and took several hostages, Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries arrived in Ouagadougou to provide military support. Between 80 and 120 men came to support their "brothers in arms" in the fight against the country's massive terrorism. Nevertheless, this situation has not failed to create controversy within the army itself. According to certain sources, there are movements within the barracks to protest against the orders of the head of the junta. A few days later, the armed forces neutralized more than 150 terrorists between June 25 and 26 with Operation Yamba, in response to the assailants who had been spreading terror in the area.

This upsurge in terrorist attacks comes on the heels of a series of serious security incidents. Indeed, exchanges of fire were heard inside the palace on May 17, and on June 12, a rocket attack resulted in two wounded and the exfiltration of Colonel Traoré, without him making a statement. In this climate of growing insecurity, Colonel Traoré's deafening silence has caused much ink to flow in Ouagadougou.

President Ibrahim Traoré also paid a friendly visit to his Malian counterpart, who took the opportunity to address the issue of terrorism in the Sahel, denouncing what he called "façade partners" and saluting what he described as "sincere" partners. Indeed, this historic and symbolic meeting between the two leaders of the AES is the first in the land of men of integrity since 2021. These 2 poles of sovereignty are increasingly distancing themselves from France, their historic partner, in favor of Russia.

What's more, the transition period has been extended by 60 months since last May, following the national conference attended by the nation's driving forces, which resulted in the introduction of a new charter. This allows Captain Traoré to remain in power. However, for some time now, there have been repeated kidnappings, targeting civil society players, members of the opposition and certain members of the military. For example, the kidnapping of investigative journalist Serge Oulon from his home, along with his computer and telephone, on June 24, caused considerable concern. The Conseil supérieur de la communication suspended his newspaper for a month.

In the same drive to reduce media and civic space, the TV5Monde news channel has been suspended nationwide for 6 months. The Conseil supérieur de la communication said it had: "(...) noted malicious insinuations, tendentious comments bordering on disinformation and assertions likely to minimize the efforts made by the transitional authorities, the defense and security forces and the population in the drive to regain national territory". Is this an attempt to muzzle the press, especially those trying to shed light on the junta's failings in certain areas of national interest?  In response to the "detractors of the Transition", the Prime Minister made some threatening remarks: "No force will stop us". Meanwhile, in response to the peaceful sit-inby Burkina Faso's Coordination Nationale des Associations de la Veille Citoyenne on June 25, Senegal's Minister of Foreign Affairs issued the following clarification: "Contrary to rumors circulating, neither diplomatic staff nor the Embassy premises have been threatened in any way, nor have Senegalese citizens residing in Burkina Faso, who continue to go about their business. As a reminder, these "pro-junta" demonstrators suspected Dakar of interfering in the country's internal affairs, even though these were NGO initiatives and had nothing to do with the Senegalese state.