Headlines: civilians on the front line in the Sahel

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By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

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It is not only terrorists or bandits who intimidate, who rape or who kill the civilian populations in the Sahelian regions, there are also sometimes the men in lattice, the very ones who are supposed to protect them. Witness, the latest report on the issue released yesterday Wednesday by Amnesty International.

“  Between February and April last, reports Le Pays à Bamako, the human rights organization has recorded no less than 199 incidents in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. At least 57 executions and 142 cases of disappearance have been documented. These abuses, according to Amnesty, are the work of the security forces. These burrs, tipThe Country, arise as part of the commitment of the G5 Sahel countries to intensify military operations against terrorist groups operating in the area of ​​Ségou in Mali, Ouahigouya and Djibo in Burkina Faso and Ayorou in Niger. In most cases, Amnesty says, these are abuses that occur after the army's position has been attacked in the locality. (…) Amnesty International is very concerned about these 'repeated human rights violations and abuses'. And the organization recommends that those suspected of these situations be brought to justice.  "

The discredited armed forces

Observer Paalga , in Burkina, notes that “  it is unfortunately not the first time that such serious accusations have been made against the national armed forces of the three accused countries. In April alone, the human rights division of Minusma accused the Malian and Nigerien soldiers of abuses against civilians. As recently as last Friday, it was the Tabital Pulaaku association that accused the FAMA (the Malian armed forces) of having perpetrated abuses in central Mali by torching a Peul village and killing 29 of its inhabitants, even if, according to the Bamako authorities, the perpetrators of the massacre have not been clearly identified.  "

In any case, notes L'Observateur Paalga , "  these recurring accusations not only discredit and tarnish the image of our armies, which must fight against the hydra without losing their soul, but are also counterproductive, especially when they are directed against a community whose members, in the best of cases, will not collaborate with the defense forces and, in the worst of cases, can pass to the enemy to avenge their loved ones. "

No war without collateral victims ...

“  The Sahel is today, a kind of Roman arena, where the priests on both sides are bloody, sighs for its part the daily newspaper Today , still in Ouaga. If it is up to the defense forces to make the distinction between enemies and ordinary populations, it is often difficult under pressure and the threatening threats of knowing who is who, both terrorists and populations of certain localities are in osmosis. And there is also the risk of drawing too much on the conscience of the defense forces to undermine their morale. That said, it is good reason for Amnesty International to sound the alarm, because there is no war without collateral victims, especially in an oblique war, but when these collateral victims become numerous, there is surely a problem .  "

Burundi: "time to take stock"

Back now on the brutal disappearance of Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, with this comment from the Iwacu news site . "  We are not turning the page, the time to take stock will come, because that is how it is," exclaims Iwacu. It is the terrible condition of men in power. They are indebted. The fifteen years of Pierre Nkurunziza at the head of Burundi will be scrutinized, analyzed, commented on, judged. (…) A man therefore left, 'unexpectedly', to use the official term. It is also a terrible lesson in life, points out the Burundian information site. As if to remind us that the honors, the titles, the power, that all this is ultimately very fragile … ”

Then, "  another man will succeed Pierre Nkurunziza," continues Iwacu. Let him keep in mind this very human fragility. Let him avoid the traps of excessive power, let him try to write a new page in history in a peaceful Burundi. The challenges are immense for the next president: more than 400,000 refugees, rampant poverty, the coronavirus epidemic ... But there is a time for everything. The time (for now) is for contemplation.  "

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