Light on the Islamist Insurgency in Burkina Faso
Since 2015, successive governments in Burkina Faso have been combating an Islamist insurgency that has spilled over from neighboring Mali. This insurgency has resulted in the deaths and displacements of a large number of individuals. This article seeks to offer an overview of the current situation.
The security situation in Burkina Faso has deteriorated in recent years, with a surge in activity by various terrorist groups. In its 2024 report covering 2023, the Global Terrorism Index stated that “the epicenter of terrorism has now conclusively shifted out of the Middle East and into the Central Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa [with] Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger account[ing] for most of the terrorism deaths in the region”. Notably, Burkina Faso ranked as the country most impacted by terrorism in 2023, with four of the ten deadliest terrorist attacks occurring within its borders that year.
Terrorist groups have continued their campaign of violence throughout 2023 and into 2024. Last year, the extremists launched sieges and attacks against towns and surrounding villages, resulting in the deaths of numerous civilians. Additionally, the groups have carried out abductions targeting large groups of citizens. In a recent high-profile incident, the Islamic State group (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack conducted the 25th of February on a Catholic church in Northeastern Burkina Faso, which left at least 15 people dead.
In addition to the above-mentioned group, other organizations are present in the country. The groups operating in the country include the homegrown Ansarul Islam, Jama'at Nasrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) an al-Qaeda-affiliated and Mali-based, and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). Those groups are locked in an ongoing struggle for dominance over the tri-border region between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Significantly, the expansion of JNIM is closely tied to the country's lucrative gold mining industry, as the group seeks to extend its influence into these resource-rich areas. It is estimated that these groups now control up to 40 percent of Burkina Faso's territory.
According to a report from Human Rights Watch, Islamist armed groups have perpetrated grave human rights violations against civilians including killings, looting, and arson. In 2023, Burkina Faso witnessed a total of 258 terrorist attacks, resulting in the deaths of nearly 2,000 individuals and accounting for almost a quarter of all global terrorist fatalities. The attacks also pushed over 2 million people to flee their homes across multiple regions since 2015 (as of June 2023). The terrorist groups are also reported to use displacement tactics to exert control and punish perceived cooperation with authorities. Their attacks have been concentrated in areas contested by pro-government militias, which had been reinforced through recent recruitment drives.
To address this threat, the government and the international community have implemented several countermeasures including France's Operation Barkhane, which was established in 2014 to expel insurgent groups from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. However, France's withdrawal from Mali in 2020 resulted in the discontinuation of French air support for regional militaries, allowing the ISGS to exploit this security vacuum. The government's measures to maintain order in the country are further characterized by the silencing of dissent, with lawyers and activists targeted, thus aggravating civil unrest in the country. As such, the military's fight against armed groups has had mixed results, with civilian harm attributed to their efforts to suppress the terrorist threat. Exacerbating these issues, civilian counterterrorism militias have emerged to provide security to vulnerable communities, quickly becoming an alternative to state-sponsored counterinsurgency campaigns.
With the country facing a persistent Islamist insurgency that has displaced millions and claimed thousands of lives, the security situation in Burkina Faso remains dire. While the government has implemented counterterrorism measures, with international support, the crisis continues to be exacerbated by political instability and the emergence of civilian militias.
