After months of tension, part of the army has chosen to challenge the Burkinabè government, which it blames for mismanagement of the fight against terrorism.

For several months, it has been supported by demonstrations in several cities, often banned and dispersed by riot police.

Following new rallies to denounce the government's "inability" to curb jihadist violence, mutinies broke out on Sunday January 23 in several cities in Burkina Faso. 

Mutinous soldiers are demanding the departure of army chiefs and "more appropriate means" to fight against the jihadists, while the ruling party's headquarters in Ouagadougou were set on fire by demonstrators.

Burkinabè authorities unable to curb jihadist violence

The government decreed a curfew on Sunday and on Monday President Roch Kaboré was held back by mutinous soldiers in a military camp.

In power since 2015, he was re-elected in 2020 on the promise to make the fight against jihadists his priority.

It is mainly in the north and east of the country, in the so-called three-border zone (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso) that the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a subsidiary of Al-Qaeda , and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) organization reign terror. 

To see on France 24 >>> Burkina Faso facing the jihadist danger

From 2016 to 2018, attacks hit the capital Ouagadougou and the symbols of power.

Since 2019, attacks carried out by highly mobile katibas have instead targeted rural areas in the north and east of the country, causing unprecedented population displacements and inter-community violence.

In total, they caused more than 2,000 victims among civilians, the armed forces but also the "Volunteers for the defense of the homeland" (VDP, civilian auxiliaries of the Burkinabe army, created in 2020).

The main stages of jihadist violence in Burkina Faso

• On January 15, 2016, in Ouagadougou, a double attack targeting the Splendid hotel and the Cappuccino restaurant claimed by AQIM killed 30 people, mainly among the ranks of Western expatriates. 

• On March 2, 2018, armed attacks targeting the French embassy and the general staff of Burkina's armed forces killed eight law enforcement officers. 

• On January 1, 2019, in the province of Sanmatenga, Fulani, accused of complicity with the jihadists, are the target of Mossi villagers.

According to the official report, the violence left at least 72 dead and 6,000 displaced. 

• On August 19, 2019, 24 soldiers were killed in an attack on an army base in Koutougou, in the north of the country.

The army came under renewed attack in December when the town of Arabinda, near the Mali border, was stormed by heavily armed jihadists.

• On January 25, 2020, 39 civilians were massacred in cold blood by a group of assailants in the market of the village of Silgadji, in the north of the country.

About 40 civilians had been killed the previous week in the villages near Nagraogo and Alamou.

• From March to June 2021, a series of mutinies shook the Burkinabè army: 566 soldiers were struck off, a new government and a new staff were appointed by the president. 

• On June 5, 2021, a new massacre in the village of Solhan left at least 160 dead, the deadliest attack that Burkina Faso had known since the start of the violence in 2015. It claimed many victims among the VDPs.

• On November 14, 2021, the attack on the Inata gendarmerie post killed 57 people, including 54 gendarmes in the province of Soum bordering Mali.

Two weeks before this attack, they had alerted the general staff to their precarious situation, saying they lacked food.

• On December 10, 2021, Lassina Zerbo is appointed Prime Minister after the resignation of his predecessor, accused of being unable to stem the terrorist attacks. 

• On January 11, 2022, eight soldiers accused of planning "a project to destabilize the institutions of the Republic" are arrested.

After six years of insurrection, a weakened government

Islamist militants now control swathes of the country and have forced people in some areas to abide by a strict version of Islamic law.

The army's struggle to quell the insurgency has dented the country's meager resources.

Roch Kaboré pledged in November to put an end to the "dysfunctions" of the army after a series of attacks against the security forces and to introduce measures to fight corruption.

With AFP, Reuters and RFI

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