The military junta in Burkina Faso has initiated a general mobilization to give the state “all the necessary means” to fight jihadist attacks. Given the current security situation, the country needs “a wave of national spirit from all of its daughters and sons,” Defense Minister Kassoum Coulibaly said on Thursday.
The aim is to create a “legal framework for all these actions” against the “rebels”, according to a statement by the presidency. Interim President Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power at the end of September 2022, wants to regain control of the entire country. About 40 percent of the country is currently controlled by jihadist groups, some of which work with the extremist network al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) militia.
Details of the general mobilization were not initially published. However, the plans should include the imposition of a “state of emergency in the affected areas”, as the AFP news agency learned from security circles. The authorities had also issued a warning giving the President the right to “requisition people, goods and services and restrict certain civil rights”. The government had already announced in February that it wanted to recruit 5,000 additional soldiers.
There have been regular armed attacks by jihadist groups in Burkina Faso since 2015. More than 10,000 people were killed in the fighting and two million people were forced to flee. At least 44 residents were killed in an attack by armed groups on two villages in the northeast of the country last week.
The West African country has been ruled by a military junta that came to power in a coup since September 2022. At the time, the rebels cited “the continuous deterioration in the security situation” in the country as the reason for the coup. Chief of Staff Célestin Simporé recently announced that he would expand a “dynamic offensive” against jihadists launched a few weeks ago. (AFP)
