It could only be one more attack in a country that has too many. But the Sunday massacre in two villages in the north of Burkina Faso raised fears of a drift from the jihadist conflict towards a community war.
The raids began on Sunday morning in the villages of Dinguila and Barga. The attackers " systematically attacked civilians ", according to a local source, massacring at least 43 people. Six others were seriously injured, dozens of houses burned down. However, it was not the Islamists who were behind this killing, but local militias. The army began sweeps on Sunday in search of possible militiamen, but to no avail. The soldiers who deserted a large part of the north of the country, under pressure from the jihadists, remain present in this region relatively untouched by Islamist violence. The President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, declared " a national mourning of 48 hours (...) in memory of the victims " of a crime, officially attributed to "unauthenticated groups ".
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This unusual national mourning shows that the authorities fully understood the origin of the massacre and its gravity. Locals maintain that the perpetrators are self-defense peasant groups, the "Koglweogo", who organized a punitive expedition. " They came and accused some residents of being accomplices of jihadists, " a survivor told AFP. “ There is no doubt that this is a community crime. Only the Fulani were targeted because there is an amalgam . They are accused of supporting terrorists when they are as victims as the others, ”explains Souleymane Diallo, of the Collectif contre la stigmatisation. Young Fulani form the backbone of jihadist groups, notably the Islamic State in the Grand Sahara (EIGS), even if all ethnic groups are represented there.
"Hell machine"
The attacks, reminiscent of those that tear apart central Mali, are not really surprising. " If we are not careful, the war on terror will turn into a community war and it will be very dangerous, " explains Souleymane Diallo, regretting that the government "is not taking the right measures".
A barely veiled criticism of the law, wanted by the president in January, allowing the arming of the " volunteers " of the self-defense militias to counter the Islamists. This decision had been strongly opposed by NGOs and, more discreetly, by the international community. " Volunteers " are expected to be recruited from communities and trained by the military. In practice, little training has been carried out, the Koglweogo simply turning into volunteers. " They took it for a blank check from the government to intervene, " regrets an observer.
The Islamists have voluntarily set in motion an infernal machine which leads to internal war from which they will be able to profit
An observerThese militias present throughout the country, whose supreme leader denies any intervention in the fight against terrorism, have already been accused of violence. Their intervention in Yirgou in January 2019 had led to community brawls where at least 46 Fulani civilians were killed. Over the months, distrust has developed between ethnic groups. " Our Fulani employees today refuse to work in the north of the country because they are afraid, " explains an NGO employee, who also notes that the refugee camps are separated between " Fulani camps and the camps of others ". .
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A de facto separation which facilitates the recruitment of more and more young Fulani by the jihadists, EIGS at the head, the feeling of exclusion and revenge being the main engines of these movements. “ The Islamists have voluntarily set in motion an infernal machine which leads to internal war from which they will be able to profit. If this vicious circle is not stopped very quickly, immense violence is to be feared, ”fears the observer.