Burkina Faso soldiers mutiny to demand more means against jihadism

Burkina Faso soldiers from different barracks located in Ouagadougou, the country's capital, and from the cities of Kaya and Ouahigouya staged a riot this Sunday, shooting into the air to demand more resources in the fight against jihadism advancing through the country, the replacement of the military leadership and greater attention to the wounded and the families of the victims. The military protest found the support of part of the population, who came out to demonstrate. The Government has acknowledged the incident through a statement and, given the rumors of a coup d'état, the Defense Minister, General Barthélémy Simporé, assured through public television that no State institution had been disturbed and that the President of the country, Roch Marc Cristian Kaboré, had not been detained.

The incidents began in the early hours of Sunday.

Three barracks in Ouagadougou were affected by them, specifically, the Sangoulé Lamizana base located in the Gounghin neighborhood, the Baba Sy camp, on the southern exit of the capital, and the air base near the airport.

Residents of Ouagadougou say that the shots began to be heard while it was still dark and that they continued on Sunday morning, when information began to circulate about an alleged coup attempt.

In the afternoon, a resident of Ouagadougou confirmed to El PAÍS that the situation was "relatively calm" and that no shots were heard from the military base.

Sources close to the government assured that the defense minister was negotiating with the mutinous military in order to find a way out of the crisis.

The spokesman for the Government of Burkina Faso, Alkassoum Maïga, hastened to publish a statement acknowledging that there were shots fired at various barracks, but denying that it was a military coup. Two hours later, General Simporé gave an interview on public television. “For now we don't know the reasons for those shots, we don't know what they claim. We are going to get in touch with those responsible for this maneuver to understand their motivations,” assured the Defense Minister. “The head of state has not been arrested, no institution of the Republic has been disturbed. This is a localized and circumscribed movement that is under control,” he added.

Shortly after, the British journalist Henry Wilkins assured through Twitter that a group of soldiers from the Sangoulé Lamizana base held him and another journalist for half an hour and sent them their demands: more troops to combat the jihadist groups that sow terror throughout the country, military training adapted to the terrorist threat, the replacement of the military and intelligence hierarchy, an increase in bonuses for those who go to the front of this conflict and greater attention to the families of deceased soldiers, as well as those wounded in these combats. According to Wilkins, the spokesman for the mutinous military refused to identify himself.

As the hours passed, various spontaneous demonstrations in support of the military began to take place in different parts of Ouagadougou. A hundred people tried to gather in the Plaza de la Nación, in the center of the capital, but were dispersed by the Police with tear gas. Meanwhile, hundreds of young people managed to demonstrate in the Gounghin neighbourhood, setting fire to tires as gunshots continued to be heard coming from the Sangoulé Lamizana base. The ruling party's headquarters in the capital were burned and looted. The mobile Internet service was interrupted from ten in the morning local time, supposedly a cut caused by the authorities as usually happens in this type of crisis.

Tension has been rising in Burkina Faso in recent months due to the government's inability to deal with the advance of jihadism throughout the country. Much of this popular discontent is expressed in a growing anti-French sentiment, as in other countries in the region such as Mali or Niger, due to the failure of the Barkane operation to prevent the constant terrorist attacks. This Saturday there were incidents between the police and citizens who tried to demonstrate against the Government, both in the capital and in other cities of the country. In Kaya, the headquarters of the party in power was looted. Another demonstration was called in support of Mali, a country sanctioned after the seizure of power by a military junta that has reinforced its military cooperation with Russia in the midst of a diplomatic crisis with Paris and the European Union.

Between January 8 and 12, 15 people were arrested for an alleged plot to organize a coup d'état, of which three were later released.

Of the 12 who remain under arrest, three are civilians and nine are military, including the alleged leader of the conspiracy, Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Zoungrana, who had allegedly contacted numerous officers seeking support to carry out an uprising. military.

Until last December, Zoungrana was responsible for the Ouahigouya infantry regiment and is a respected young officer who is considered close to former Defense Minister Cheriff Sy, dismissed in June 2021 after the terrible Solhan massacre in which a jihadist group murdered about 160 civilians.

These arrests highlight the unease within the Burkinabe Army in the face of the Government's defense and security strategy and the constant jihadist attacks by groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State that have cost the lives of dozens of soldiers and members of the forces. of security. The Inata massacre, which took place on November 14, marked a turning point in this discontent. That day, dozens of jihadists presumably members of Ansarul Islam, affiliated with Al Qaeda, attacked the Gendarmerie barracks in that town and killed 53 gendarmes. Subsequent investigations revealed serious errors in the supply and management of said facility, such as a lack of ammunition and even food. Days later, in the face of popular and military discontent and amid rumors of a coup d'état,President Kaboré dismissed the entire government.

Burkina Faso is one of the countries most affected by the jihadist conflict that has hit the central Sahel since January 2012, has suffered more than 7,000 deaths since then, according to data analyst José Luengo-Cabrera, and has a million and a half displaced internal. In addition to the 2016 Ouagadougou attacks, the attacks began that year systematically in the north and spread to the east and even the south over time. The State has lost control of much of the territory. In 2021 alone, 2,341 people were killed in Burkina Faso as a result of this violence, the year with the most fatalities. The Government, unable to face this threat, created in 2020 the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland, paramilitary groups made up of civilians who have suffered numerous casualties since then,among them that of one of its leaders, the popular Ladji Yoro.

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