In the spotlight: lots of red and a little orange!

Audio 04:16

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

Publicity

"  These are not the new national colors of Burkina Faso, Niger or Mali, but those which the Quai d'Orsay now paints these three countries of the Sahel, deplores WakatSéra , these three countries where terrorists have made their nest , daily bereaving the national armies, the French Force Barkhane, the United Nations Mission in Mali and the civilian populations, without distinction of religion, sex, or social affiliation. Nor of nationality! In Burkina, recalls the Ouagalais site, while the Grand Imam of Djibo, Souaïbou Cissé, 73, kidnapped on August 11, was found dead the day before yesterday in Niger, 8 civilians, i.e. 6 French tourists and their Nigerien guide and driver been killed by these same individuals without faith or law. Suddenly, sighs WakatSéra again , the Sahel, where terrorists have taken refuge in particular in the area known as the three borders where Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali meet without precise delimitation, the Sahel has become infrequent. The security environment is all the more degraded in these parts of West Africa as despite the blows that Barkhane and the African national armies deal them at times, the jihadists have increased their deadly operations. The Sahel is therefore experiencing a resurgence of terrorist hydra activity.  "

Does the State still exist in the Sahel?

"  By coloring Burkina in purple , points out the daily Today , still in Ouagadougou, France means that in the Sahel, despite the boldness of Barkhane, with its 5,100 men whose Task Force is in motion but is still waiting the rescue of 11 European countries, from the Pau summit, despite the sluggish Force G5-Sahel weighed down by cash flow issues, despite the hardening of the defense forces of these countries concerned, despite the improvements made, the obscurantist forces of evil gain traction in the field . "

In fact, still points today , “  the summit of Pau and its extensions really did not provide the appropriate aftershocks. Instead of the expected hundreds of European Special Forces soldiers, France only registered around thirty Estonians, who came as logistical support personnel to Barkhane.  "

And “  the least we can say , continues Le Pays , is that the populations are suffering martyrdom today. In any case, they believe less and less in the speeches of the authorities. Because, these are rarely followed by actions. And we can afford, continues Le Pays, to ask the question whether the state still exists in the Sahel.  "

Contested leaders

In Le Point Afrique , Yvan Guichaoua, teacher-researcher at the Brussels School of International Studies , explains to us why, according to him, the situation is deteriorating: "  due to a central error," he says . International support is based on political regimes which are often the cause of the problems. To varying degrees, leaders are challenged. This is evident in Mali, a country in turmoil against Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. In Niger, the regime of Mahamadou Issoufou is also contested, admittedly in smaller proportions, but after being elected against an opponent who did not have the right to campaign! In Burkina, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré does not control the security situation, militias extorting entire regions of the country. And yet, it is these rulers of shattered states on which the international community relies.  "

Take better account of the religious fact?

So what would be the other possible avenues? Response from Yvan Guichaoua, still in Le Point Afrique : “  First of all, it would take time to rebuild the legitimacy of States. However, this is exclusively considered for elections, all marked by major irregularities, with which the international community is content by spending fortunes in vain. To take the example of Mali, we see that Imam Mahmoud Dicko is playing a growing political role. Why not recognize that Sahelian societies are largely structured around Islamic religious principles? Wouldn't this be a way to reconcile a divided society? The solutions would undoubtedly be different in Burkina, which has a significant Christian population, or in Niger, but why not look in this direction?  "

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• Burkina Faso
• Terrorism
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France places all the borders of Burkina Faso in "red zone"