Burkina Faso: A Microcosm of the Growing Threat of Terrorism to West Africa

While household news publications still fixate on the cauldron of violence boiling in the Middle East, the symptoms of that plague of terrorism have spread with alarming speed and ferocity to West Africa. The presence of terrorist activity has had damming implications for regional stability and the proliferation of economic and political progress. In the nation of Burkina Faso especially, the rise of militant groups such as Ansarullah Islam, the Islamic State, and al-Qaeda, among others, has undermined longstanding religious stability and tolerance, and called into question the strength of the Burkinabe government itself.

Violence in Burkina Faso began its upward trend beginning in 2016, after terrorist attacks in the capital of Ouagadougou gave way to the formation of the “Defenders of Islam” group. However, the roots of terrorist involvement in the region can be traced back to the authoritarian rule of Blaise Compaore, who was overthrown in October of 2014. Compaore and members of his regime—notably advisor Moustapha Chafi—were long suspected of colluding with terrorist organizations. Regardless of Compaore’s hand in fomenting a terrorist presence in Burkina Faso, violence state-wide has escalated to unprecedented levels. Spurred by local tensions about land use and allocation, and capitalizing on the deteriorating credibility of regional leaders, jihadis and ethnic “self-defense militias” have concentrated their efforts to the north and east regions, where fragile borders with Mali and Niger enable the flow of terrorist forces and supplies.

Collectively, attacks have increased exponentially since the first outbreaks of violence in 2016, and some estimate that the Sahel has experienced double the number of attacks in comparison to totals from that year; as of May 2019, there had been at least five recorded attacks, but that number has since risen substantially. In September and October of 2019 alone, terrorist attacks have claimed well over 100 lives[i]. Combined guerrilla tactics, road mines, and suicide bombings have claimed the lives of almost 600 Burkinabe, some estimates even placing casualty totals higher at about 1,000. Incidents of kidnapping of locals, aid workers, and foreign travelers have also increased. Over 100,000 have fled the county as asylum seekers in the wake of the growing terrorist threat. Altogether, approximately 1.5 million Burkinabe are in need of humanitarian assistance (Aljazeera, 2019). Faced with the threat of terrorist attacks and reduced access to resources, 9,000 schools have been closed across West Africa, 2,000 of which are located in Burkina Faso (Petesch, 2019). Hundreds of thousands of children in Burkina Faso now lack access to educational support, as do some 2 million other students in surrounding West African communities. As state officials are pushed out of rural areas and cities by terrorist collectives, security and stability nationwide in has declined.

Increased ethnicization among the Peul (Fulani) ethnic group has exacerbated local tensions and increased opportunities for terrorist infiltration. Recruitment strategies have targeted the Fulani with great success, perpetuating their ostracization by other ethnic groups, and fueling tensions that increase openness to recruitment. The reciprocal rise of local ethnic tensions and jihadi forces does not bode well for the future or stability of Burkina Faso. Terrorist activity has notably undercut religious tolerance between Muslims and Christians within Burkina Faso, who have cohabitated peacefully despite growing hostilities elsewhere. Many attacks have been directed at congregations and places of worship, as in the case of the Grand Mosque attack on October 12, 2019 in the northern Salmossi village, and a church attack in May that killed 6. In an arguably overzealous response to terrorist recruitment spikes, the Burkinabe government has carried out summary executions of Fulani, which has only exacerbated religious hostilities and collective distrust of the government.

In response to the growing threat posed by terrorism, Burkina Faso’s government declared a state of emergency in 7 of 13 of its regional provinces, beginning in December of 2018 (Thurston, 2019). Currently, more than 1/5 of the federal Burkinabe budget is allocated to defense and security (BBC, 2019). In a 2019 conference, West African leaders collectively announced a billion-dollar resistance plan against armed group violence. Burkinabe government officials remain fearful of southward infiltration by terrorist groups, which would grant them seaport access for smuggling and human trafficking. In a concerted effort to contain the terrorist threat and strengthen internal borders, President Kaboré withdrew from U.N. missions in Sudan and Mali in 2016 and called on funding from France and Canada to fortify his nation’s borders. Economic support for the nation’s efforts, however, is largely forthcoming Funding from other members of the G-5 Sahel summit—Niger, Mali, Chad, and Mauritania—remains to be seen, and the vitality of the G-5 task force itself is limited by a lack of financing, training, and equipment.

Furthermore, Burkina Faso’s response against militant groups has been undermined by the violence and brutality of its own government. Security forces and militias rely heavily on ethnic profiling when assessing threat potential, which has, as previously noted, been especially damaging to the Fulani population. Human rights violations by government forces abound, in the form of compulsive executions and heavy-handed investigative techniques. Internal rivalries within the security forces linger from the Compaore era and have undermined the unity of ongoing government response to the terror threat. Personnel changes by President Kabore have contributed to a general sense of confusion and chaos in domestic politics. In January of 2019, Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba and his cabinet resigned, as did many senior military personnel within Kabore’s inner circle. In the face of the terrorist threat, order in Burkina Faso society and politics has rapidly declined. In this transitory phase, Burkina Faso lacks the resources and strength to resolve the terrorist threat internally. Without adequate funding or support from its allies, Burkina Faso could soon be plunged into an all-out war.

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