Military mutineers in Burkina Faso arrest President Kaboré

A young man crosses in front of barricades installed by demonstrators who support the mutinous soldiers, this Sunday, January 23, in Ouagadougou. OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT (AFP)

The riot that broke out this Sunday in various barracks in Burkina Faso led by soldiers who demand more means in the fight against jihadism and the replacement of the military leadership has become an uprising over the hours. The country's president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, is being held by the military at a base in Ouagadougou, according to various Army and diplomatic sources told Reuters and local media. During the night shots were fired around the presidential residence and in the Sangoulé Lamizana and Baba Sy barracks in the Burkina Faso capital. This Monday, hooded soldiers have taken up positions in front of the national television headquarters, where a statement is expected during the day.

The incidents broke out early Sunday morning in various barracks across the country, both in Ouagadougou and in other cities, when soldiers who were hiding their faces began shooting in the air. The Government hastened to inform through a statement that it was not a coup and the Minister of Defense revealed the beginning of negotiations with the mutineers. Numerous spontaneous demonstrations in support of the military began to take place in the capital, where angry citizens set fire to one of the ruling party's headquarters. The military sent a message to the media asking for more troops to fight the jihadist groups that spread terror throughout the country, military training adapted to the terrorist threat, a replacement of the military and intelligence hierarchy,an increase in premiums for those who go to the front lines of this conflict and greater attention to the families of the soldiers who have died, as well as those wounded in these combats

Sunday afternoon was relatively calm while these talks took place between the mutinous military and the Government, which decreed a curfew starting at 8:00 p.m. Even President Kaboré posted a congratulatory message on Twitter to the players of the national soccer team who qualified for the African Cup quarterfinals on Sunday. However, residents of Ouagadougou say that shots were heard again at night around the president's residence and in barracks in the capital. Vehicles of the presidential fleet have appeared this Monday with obvious signs of having suffered an attack.

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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