Burkina Faso declares mobilization in face of terrorism

Nahla Abdelmonem

Burkina Faso suffers from the spread of terrorism and the aggravation of its activities.

This African country’s transitional government tries to take effective measures to control the security situation and stop the loss of lives and economic resources.

On April 13, the government of Burkina Faso declared a state of general mobilization to confront terrorism as the main goal of the current regime.

Africa News site quoted interim President Ibrahim Traoré as saying that terrorist groups control about 40% of his country.

Traoré seeks to regain control of the territories captured by terrorists, within fierce competition between al-Qaeda and ISIS.

This competition opened the door for geographic and ideological incursions that exhausted Burkina Faso’s military and prompted its defence minister to declare that the challenges posed by the current security situation need a more consolidated national unity to effectively confront violent extremism.

Mobilization, challenges

News of the general mobilization of the Burkinabe army comes amid demands for the withdrawal of French troops from the country.

In January 2023, the Ministry of foreign affairs of Burkina Faso asked France to terminate the agreement concluded in 2018 to allow the presence of 400 French soldiers in the country.

It justified this by referring to the failure of French troops in confronting terrorist organizations.

On February 20, Burkina Faso celebrated the end of military cooperation with France, marking a new stage in Ouagadougou’s fight against terrorism.

Political sociology professor at the American University in Cairo, Saeed Sadek, said the French government participated in the international coalition led by the United States against ISIS in its main strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

“Through the same methodology, France’s struggle against terrorism in Africa undermines violence from beyond borders,” he told The Reference in previous statements.

“After all, France wants to secure its own interests in the region,” he added.

For his part, extremism researcher, Ali Bakr, believes that the fight against terrorism in Africa needs trained and professional military forces.

“The weakness of some African forces gives the chance for extremist groups to take root and grow,” Bakr told The Reference.