How Jihadists Are Ravaging Burkina Faso

By Isabella Hehl Dalla Zuanna, Staff Writer

When discussing the targets of violent jihadists, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq are often the focal points. Yet, one of the countries most ravaged by terrorism today is Burkina Faso. Ranked fourth in countries most impacted by terrorism by the 2022 Global Terrorism Index, it suffered 732 deaths, 231 injured and 216 overall attacks last year. In the past, the jihadists in Burkina Faso — mostly Jamat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen and Islamic State West Africa — targeted pro-government forces such as the military and state officials. However, in the last several years, the targets have mostly become civilians, volunteer defense forces and sometimes even tourists, who are confronted by improvised explosive devices (IED), small-arms attacks, assassinations and kidnappings by jihadists aiming to expand their territorial control. As a result, there are now more than one million internally displaced Burkinabe, most of whom were forced to leave their homes as a direct result of the extremist violence.

For the last three consecutive years, civilians have been the most targeted group by terrorists. On June 5, 2021, jihadists murdered over 160 people in Solhan in the Yagha province and injured more than 40. Considered the most vicious and deadly attack in Burkina Faso in the last several years, the terrorists — of which the group is unknown — began their attack by assassinating a volunteer defense force militia and then proceeding to strike the village, killing the civilians inside and burning down their houses and a market. Tragically, of nity feels unprotected and excluded by its government, especially by the youth — in part due to corruption and inequality of wealth, resources and security — will show less of a tendency to resist the territorial expansion of the armed groups. The terrorist crisis also impacts elections in Burkina Faso. With a his- the 160 people, 20 were children.

As one of the poorest countries in the world, more than half of its population lives on 1.90 U.S. dollars a day, and its terrorist crisis only worsens the situation. Factors such as recent climate shocks, the growing population and food insecurity stagnate poverty levels, especially impacting urban areas, where the unemployment rate is 50 percent. This poverty, inefficient governance and geographical inequality in state security have allowed for the country’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks. The country’s military weakness and inequality have given credibility and opportunity to non-state armed groups. Regions where the commu- tory of coup d’états, the rise in terrorism further impairs fair election processes, as mass displacement challenges voter turnout.

Due to insufficient troop availability, the Burkinabe government has increasingly recruited civilian auxiliaries, which are rapidly trained and sent to various at-risk regions. Unfortunately, these new recruits have increasingly become the main target of extremist groups, suggesting that volunteers have now replaced the military on the front lines. However, these volunteer defense forces have been accused of numerous human rights violations by Burkinabe civilians and international organizations, such as illegal killings and the targeting of native Peuhl, an indigenous people mostly concentrated in northern Burkina Faso in geographically isolated, economically marginalized and dry areas. The government has also committed many human rights violations, including torture, unlawful executions of suspected criminals and Islamists and arbitrary detentions. Prison overcrowding is a severe problem in Burkina Faso, and most prisoners are not informed of or guaranteed their legal rights. Access to education has severely decreased in recent years due to insecurity. The Burkinabe government closed 10 percent of schools in May 2021, resulting in more than 300,000 children being out of school.

The vicious attacks of Jamat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen and Islamic State West Africa have not only caused hundreds of deaths and injuries. As a result, the poverty level has worsened, mass displacement continues, education levels deteriorate, human rights violations occur frequently, the law loses its meaning even to government officials, and the overall political future of Burkina Faso is unstable. The crisis is not just a terrorist one; it is humanitarian and deserves swift, effective and international action.