Coup d'état in Guinea: the role of special forces in West African armies raises questions
Guinean special forces arrive at the People's Palace in Conarky on September 6, 2021, the day after the coup led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya.
AFP - CELLOU BINANI
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
The coup d'etat in Guinea brings the debate around the status of special forces in West African armies back to the forefront.
Since 2008, West Africa has experienced nine military putsch: in Mauritania, Guinea, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Most were carried out by elite units.
Despite this, these special forces remain today at the heart of the counterterrorism system in the sub-region.
Advertising
Read more
Special forces soldiers are "
soldiers who belong to very well endowed units, they have quality training and generally enjoy a certain autonomy
", explains a specialist in Defense issues.
These qualities are as useful in the fight against terrorism as they are worrying for the powers in place, which have long adopted two attitudes: dissolve these elite units as Burkina did after the fall of Blaise Compaoré, or transform them into a guard. Praetorian as
Idriss Déby did in Chad
with the General Directorate of the Security Service of State Institutions.
Terrorist threat in the Sahel
Today, the progression of terrorist groups in the Sahel and the threat they represent for the entire sub-region are pushing governments to reconsider their position.
Especially since France has also made the choice to gradually replace
its Barkhane operation
by Takuba, a group of European special forces.
“
The problem is that the West African partners are concentrating on the operational capacities of their elite units, without giving them a clear doctrine
,
”
explains a former French officer, formerly stationed in the region.
“
To avoid overflows, you have to know why you have these units and for what purpose,
” he concludes.
Binta Sidibe, vice-president of the Kisal Observatory, member of the Citizen Coalition for the Sahel
►Also read: After the coup, Guinea begins to turn the page Alpha Condé
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Guinea
Africa
Defense