About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 [1] (October 17, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejdi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service lnkrning Ihm legislative debate sinco 1914 Burkina Faso: Conflict and Military Rule Burkina Faso has experienced two military coups in 2022, ending a brief period of elected civilian leadership after a historic democratic transition in 2014-2015. On September 30, 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traord ousted Lt. Col. Paul- Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had taken power in a coup eight months earlier. Traord, age 34 and a combat veteran, is now serving as transition president. He has pledged to adhere to the previous junta's commitment to holding elections by July 2024. Developments in Burkina Faso underscore the country's escalating security crisis and suggest that regional leaders' efforts to deter coups have fallen short. Since 2020, military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Chad, and Sudan. Some Members of Congress have called for increased U.S. efforts to address military coups in Africa, including during a July 2022 Senate hearing on the Sahel region. Congress also provides and oversees U.S. governance, stabilization, and security aid for the Sahel. The latest coup in Burkina Faso comes amid tensions in the military and on the streets over authorities' inability to stem gains by regional insurgencies linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Days before Captain Traord seized power, a military-protected convoy was hit by a massive insurgent attack that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians. Traord has accused his predecessor of failing to secure the country or provide better equipment and pay for troops. Rivalry among specialized units-to which both Traord and Damiba belong-may also have been a motivating factor. Junta members appear to be considering whether to limit counterterrorism cooperation with former colonial power France in favor of greater support from Russia. French troops are stationed in Burkina Faso and provide security assistance; officials in successive Burkinabe governments have asserted a desire to diversify the country's security partnerships. Captain Traord initially alleged that France was supporting a countercoup attempt by his predecessor, while protesters waved Russian flags and attacked the French embassy and cultural centers. In neighboring Mali, the junta has contracted with U.S.-sanctioned Wagner Group, a Russian private military firm, deepening a rift with France, which withdrew its military forces from Mali in August 2022. Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prighozin praised Traor's seizure of power in a statement. Background Burkina Faso has a history of military mutinies, coups, and social unrest, though it was seen as relatively stable under former authoritarian leader Blaise Compaor6, who came to power in a 1987 coup. A towering and controversial figure in West African politics, Compaor6 was ousted in a popular uprising in 2014 while trying to bypass constitutional term limits. Civilian politician Roch Marc Christian Kabor6 was elected in 2015, after a failed coup attempt by senior Updated October 17, 2022 officers loyal to Compaor6. Kabor6 was Burkina Faso's first post-independence leader to enter office via elections. Figure I. Burkina Faso at a Glance Source: CIA World Factbook, IMF; 2022 figures unless noted. Armed Islamist violence emerged in Burkina Faso around 2016, as conflicts expanded in neighboring Mali. Military casualties rose, while President Kabor6 faced growing public demands for greater security, job creation, governance reforms, and accountability for abuses under the Compaor6 regime. Among other controversial actions, Kabor6 oversaw the expansion of state-backed militias and volunteer fighters that human rights groups accused of abuses. He was reelected in 2020 in a vote that local civil society observers deemed satisfactory, although opposition leaders initially claimed fraud, while security threats prevented voting in several areas. On January 24, 2022, Kabor6 was ousted in the coup led by Lt. Col. Damiba. Terrorism and Insurgency Burkina Faso enjoyed relative peace prior to 2016. That year, regional Al Qaeda affiliates carried out an attack in Ouagadougou that killed 30 people, including an American, while a local Islamist insurgency emerged in the rural north. Attacks escalated in 2017 after regional Al Qaeda affiliates merged to form the Malian-led Group for Supporting Islam and Muslims (aka JNIM). JNIM and a former splinter movement known as the Islamic State-Greater Sahara (IS- GS) now control much of the countryside. In 2018, JNIM claimed a complex assault on the Burkinabe military's headquarters and the French embassy in the capital. Burkina Faso's northern and eastern regions have been the most affected by conflict. In the north, JNIM has exploited ethnic tensions and state neglect, as well as grievances over corruption, patronage politics, social stratification, and land disputes. The east is a stronghold of IS-GS, a former

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most