OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Burkina Faso’s parliament has passed a law banning homosexuality with offenders facing two to five years in prison, the state broadcaster reported late Monday.
The amended family code was approved by the parliament on Monday in an unanimous vote that puts the code into effect more than a year after it was approved by the military government of Capt. Ibrahim Traore.
Burkina Faso joins the list of more than half of Africa’s 54 countries that have laws banning homosexuality with the penalties ranging from several years in prison to the death penalty. The laws, though criticized abroad, enjoy popularity in the countries where locals and officials have criticized homosexuality as behavior imported from abroad and not a sexual orientation.
The new law goes into effect immediately with individuals in same-sex relationships risking prison sentences as well as fines, Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said during a briefing broadcast by the state TV. He described homosexual acts as “bizarre behavior.”
Officials touted the new law as a recognition of “marriage and family values” in Burkina Faso.
“You will go before the judge,” the justice minister said, addressing offenders.
Burkina Faso has been run by the military following a coup in 2022 that the soldiers said was to stabilize the country amid a worsening security crisis and provide better governance.
Rights group, however, accuse the junta of clamping down on human rights with the rampant arrest and military conscription of critics.
Since coming to power in September 2022 after Burkina Faso’s second coup that year, the junta leader Traore has also positioned himself as a pan-African leader with rhetoric of independence from the West — a message that often resonates with Africa’s young population.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The military junta in Burkina Faso on Monday declared the United Nations resident coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak as “persona non grata” over an official U.N. report that accused jihadi groups and government forces of abuses against children.
In a statement, the government accused Flore-Smereczniak of participating in the preparation of the report — titled Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso — which it says is “without evidence or supporting documentation” and that conveyed “serious and false information.”
The U.N. has been approached for comment.
The report was published in April and accused both jihadi groups and government forces of abuses against children, including their recruitment as soldiers, sexual abuses and attacks on hospitals and schools.
Covering the period between July 2022 and June 2024, it said 2,483 grave violations against 2,255 children had been verified, including some children who were victims of multiple violations
Flore-Smereczniak was appointed by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in July 2024 as the organization’s resident coordinator in Burkina Faso as well as the humanitarian coordinator.
In a statement at the time, the U.N. said the appointment had been made “with the host Government’s approval.”
Burkina Faso, along with its neighbors Niger and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance.
But the security situation in the Sahel has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed both by Islamic militants and government forces.
Military prosecutor says 4 arrested, 2 on run following reports that a coup attempt was thwarted by security services.
A coup attempt against Burkina Faso’s military rulers has been thwarted by the country’s intelligence and security services, authorities said.
Burkina Faso’s military rulers said in a statement on Wednesday that army officers and others had planned to seize power and plunge the country into “chaos”.
“Officers and other alleged actors involved in this attempt at destabilisation have been arrested and others are actively sought,” a spokesman for the ruling military Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a statement without providing details.
The latest coup attempt occurred on Tuesday, according to the statement.
The military government said it would seek to shed “all possible light on this plot” and that it regretted “that officers whose oath is to defend their homeland have strayed into an undertaking of this nature”.
The country’s military prosecutor later said that four people had been arrested and two were on the run. An investigation has been opened based on “credible allegations about a plot against state security implicating officers”, the prosecutor said.
Earlier this month, the military prosecutor said three soldiers had been arrested and charged with plotting against the ruling military government of Captain Ibrahim Traore who seized power in September 2022 eight months after an earlier military coup had overthrown the democratically elected President Roch Marc Kabore.
Burkina Faso’s capital city Ouagadougou appeared calm on Wednesday evening following the military’s announcement of an attempt to topple it.
Thousands of pro-military government demonstrators took to the streets of Ouagadougou and elsewhere on Tuesday to show their support for the country’s military rulers following a call from Traore supporters to “defend” him amid rumours of a mutiny circulated on social media.
One of a growing number of West African countries where the military has seized power, army officers in Burkina Faso have taken control amid public discontent as armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have launched a rebellion that has destabilised the country and its neighbours in West Africa’s Sahel region.
More than two million people have been uprooted by the fighting in Burkina Faso, making it one of the worst internal displacement crises in Africa.
Last week authorities claimed nearly 192,000 internally displaced people had returned to their homes after various regions were retaken by government forces, though rebel attacks continue unabated despite claims of the military winning back territory.
More than 50 Burkinabe soldiers and volunteer fighters were killed in clashes with rebels in early September – the heaviest losses in months – the latest deaths that add to the thousands of civilians and troops that have died in rebel attacks in recent years, according to organisations monitoring the conflict.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday that French troops would be withdrawn from Niger in the next couple of months, in the wake of a coup d’état in the Western African country this summer.
The military withdrawal from Niger comes after French troops were ousted from neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, amid growing anti-French sentiment across the continent and military failures in containing jihadist terrorism in the Sahel region.
Macron also said France would imminently withdraw its ambassador, who had been living under effective house arrest in the French embassy in the capital Niamey, according to French authorities.
“France has decided to withdraw its ambassador. In the next hours, our ambassador and several diplomats will return to France,” Macron said during an interview with French TV channels.
Macron also said the military cooperation between France and Niger was “over” and that French troops would return before the end of the year. “In the weeks and months to come, we will consult with the putschists, because we want this to be done peacefully,” he added.
The military junta, which came to power in July, had set France an ultimatum to withdraw its troops that were involved in anti-terrorist operations in North Africa. France at the time pledged not to withdraw troops unless requested by the deposed Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum.
1,500 French troops are stationed in several bases across Niger.
In the weeks after the coup, France also said it would consider supporting a possible military intervention launched by the African regional body ECOWAS against the putschists in Niamey. With the decision to withdraw, that prospect appears more and more unlikely.
A group of high-ranking military officers in the West African nation of Gabon announced on public television Wednesday that they were “putting an end to the current regime” and annulling the results of national elections. The statement came just after the country’s election authority declared President Ali Bongo Ondima the winner of another term in office.
Bongo has been in power in the country for 14 years, following in the footsteps of his father who led the nation for more than four decades before him. The status and whereabouts of the seemingly-ousted leader were not immediately clear Wednesday. French news agency AFP reported that the area around his residence in the capital Libreville appeared to be quiet, but that gunfire was heard elsewhere during the officers’ announcement.
If the coup attempt in Gabon is successful, it will be the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020. The last one, in Niger, took place in July. High-ranking military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad.
This video grab shoes the spokesperson for the mutinous soldiers speaking on state television as they announce that they had seized power in Libreville, Wednesday Aug. 30, 2023.
GABON 24 via AP
“All the institutions of the republic are dissolved,” announced an officer on television, surround by a dozen or so fellow troops. “The government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court.”
He also announced the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice.”
The August 26 election “did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon,” the commander said. “We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime.”
“To this end, the general elections of 26 August 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled,” he said, claiming to speak on behalf of a “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions.”
The army said it had restored internet to the country Wednesday after a three-day blackout. Bongo’s government had imposed the shut-off to prevent “false news” from spreading, it claimed. The national broadcasting authority had also banned several French channels, accusing their election coverage of “a lack of objectivity and balance.”
Getty/iStock
The recent presidential, legislative and municipal elections in Gabon took place without election observers. Before the polls closed on Saturday, Bongo’s main rival Ondo Ossa — who won 30% of the ballot according to the previously announced results — accused Bongo of fraud and said he was the real winner.
Ossa’s campaign manager Mike Jocktane said Monday that Bongo should hand over power “without bloodshed,” insisting a partial count showed Ossa was clearly ahead. He didn’t provide any evidence.
The government of France, the former colonial power in Gabon, was following developments “with the greatest attention,” Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne said Wednesday.
China also said it was “closely following the developing situation” and called for Bongo’s safety to be “guaranteed.”
Johannesburg — Hundreds of people joined demonstrations in Niger’s capital city of Niamey on Thursday, protesting against sanctions imposed on the country by many of its neighbors in the wake of a military takeover. Amid concern that Russia could seek to expand its already-growing regional influence, some coup supporters were seen brandishing Russian flags.
Anti-Western sentiment — particularly aimed at former colonial power France — has served as a backdrop for the events in Niamey since the sudden detention on July 26 of the country’s elected president by the commander of his own elite guard.
Nigeriens, some holding Russian flags, participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, July 30, 2023.
“Given ongoing developments in Niger and out of an abundance of caution, the Department of State is ordering the temporary departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members from the U.S. embassy in Niamey,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
The embassy remained open for limited emergency services. Kathleen FitzGibbon, recently confirmed as the new U.S. Ambassador to Niger, was not yet in the country.
The Pentagon has suspended security cooperation with Nigerien military forces since the soldiers’ seizure of power, but the U.S. has not called the dramatic upheaval a coup, with the White House referring to it instead as an “attempted power grab.”
Pressure from abroad on a key U.S. partner nation
Niger has become an important U.S. partner in a tumultuous region of Africa. Labeling what has happened there a coup would, under U.S. law, require a review of all American assistance to the country, and likely a complete cutting of those ties.
There was no indication that the nearly 1,100 U.S. soldiers in Niger were due to leave the country.
“There are no changes to the U.S. military force posture in Niger during the Department of State-led ordered departure,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday in a statement, adding that the State Department had not requested any U.S. military “personnel or equipment as part of the ordered departure.”
Niger’s elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held under effective house arrest for more than a week by the commander of his own elite guard unit, and Niger have been seen as a key ally in the Sahel — a vast region across North Africa plagued by terrorism. It is also a region where Russia has managed to increase its influence in recent years, including through the deployment of Wagner Group mercenaries in Mali, which borders Niger.
On Sunday, four days after the coup, crowds of protesters attacked the French embassy in Niamey, prompting France to begin evacuation flights. France, the former colonial power in Niger which still has about 1,500 troops based in the country, working in partnership with Niger’s forces, has been accused of failing to protect the Nigerien people from Islamist extremism.
Thursday was Independence Day in Niger, marking the country’s 1960 independence from France. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Bazoum in a telephone call Wednesday that the White House remained committed to restoring his democratically elected government.
People, some carrying Russian flags, demonstrate in Niger’s capital Niamey to show their support for the military rulers who seized power in a July 26 coup, on August 3, 2023.
Djibo Issifou/picture alliance/Getty
President Biden, in a statement released Thursday to mark Niger’s independence, said the country was “facing a grave challenge to its democracy.”
“In this critical moment, the United States stands with the people of Niger to honor our decades-long partnership rooted in shared democratic values and support for civilian-led governance,” Mr. Biden said, adding a call “for President Bazoum and his family to be immediately released, and for the preservation of Niger’s hard-earned democracy.”
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc that includes Niger and 14 of its neighbors, imposed sanctions against the country Niger and has since confirmed that it is prepared to authorize the use of force if Bazoum’s government is not restored by August 6.
Coup leader stands firm, and finds some support
In a televised address Wednesday night, coup leader Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani said his junta “rejects these sanctions altogether and refuses to give into any threats, wherever they come from.”
Tchiani called the ECOWAS sanctions against Niger “illegal, unjust and inhumane,” and insisted that he would not bow to any international pressure to reinstate Bazoum.
Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, second from the right, and other army commanders are seen in Niger’s capital, Niamey, July 28, 2023, after claiming control over the country.
Balima Boureima/Anadolu Agency/Getty
An ECOWAS delegation led by Nigeria’s former military head of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abukbakar, was in Niamey this week to mediate with the coup leaders, and West African defense chiefs were meeting Thursday and Friday in Abuja, Nigeria, to discuss the situation.
Nigeria’s military defense spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, told journalists “a military solution will be the last option” to resolve the crisis in neighboring Niger.
He was to present a military contingency plan, however, on Friday to ECOWAS heads of state, who will then decide on the bloc’s action if the coup leaders miss the Sunday deadline to reinstate Bazoum.
Niger’s former army chief of staff, Gen. Salifou Mody, who has a role in the junta now ruling the country, travelled to Mali Wednesday to meet that country’s own post-coup transitional authorities. It was the first visit abroad by a member of Niger’s post-coup leadership.
There was speculation in African media that Mody had travelled to Mali to discuss the possibility of Wagner forces being deployed to Niger to back up the junta. Mody later travelled to Burkina Faso, where a military coup also toppled a civilian government last year. There he met transitional leader Capt. Ibrahim.
A statement by the Burkinabe presidency said the meeting had “focused on the situation in Niger, which is calm and under control according to the head of delegation.”
General Salifou Mody, one of the Niger officers who seized power in a military coup last week, visited Mali on Wednesday, according to the Mali presidency, amid speculation of a possible interest in the Wagner mercenary group, which has a presence in the country.
Mali’s transitional president, Assimi Goïta, hosted Mody and a large Nigerien military delegation on Wednesday, according to pictures and a statement posted on Facebook by the Mali presidency.
Mody called the meeting “part of a complex regional context,” the Mali presidency said, and thanked Malian authorities “for their support and accompaniment since the seizure of power by the CNSP,” referring to the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland where Mody is vice president.
Hundreds of Wagner contractors are stationed in Mali at the invitation of the country’s military junta, to quell an Islamist insurgency brewing in an area where the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger meet.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin last week celebrated the coup in the landlocked West African country, saying his private military company could also help with situations like the one unfolding in Niger.
The dramatic ouster of Niger’s President Bazoum last week alarmed Western leaders, including the US and France, which are both key stakeholders in Niger’s crackdown on local Islamist insurgencies.
US officials have warned that the Russian mercenary group could now seek new opportunities in Niger. “I would not be surprised to see Wagner attempt to exploit this situation to their own advantage as they’ve attempted to exploit other situations in Africa to their own advantage,” State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday.
Miller added that “any attempt by the military leaders in Niger to bring the Wagner forces into Niger would be a sign, yet another sign that they do not have the best interests of the Nigerien people at heart.”
A number of CNN investigations, and others by human rights groups, have established Wagner’s involvement in and complicity with atrocities against civilian populations in Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic, where they have been employed to assist local defense forces against rebellions and insurgencies, and suppress opposition.
The coup has provoked a split reaction from countries in the Sahel region, where the threat of militant extremism in recent years has destabilized local governments and led to volatility.
On Monday, Mali and Burkina Faso’s governments said they would consider any military intervention “an act of war” against them and put their armies on standby.
Mali presidency’s statement said General Mody told his host he had come to explore “ways and means to strengthen our security cooperation, at a time when some countries are planning to intervene militarily in our country.”
The statement comes after the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday threatened to use force if Niger’s ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, was not reinstated within one week.
ECOWAS also imposed a travel ban and asset freeze for the military officials involved in the coup attempt, as well as for their family members and civilians who accept to participate in any institutions or government established by the officials.
Burkina Faso and Mali expressed their solidarity with Nigerien authorities and said they would not participate in any measures against Niger by ECOWAS, calling the sanctions “illegal, illegitimate and inhuman.” Guinea also expressed its solidarity with Niger on Monday.
PARIS — An ongoing military coup in Niger is threatening to destabilize one of the last Western allies in Africa’s Sahel region.
On Wednesday night, Niger’s top military brass announced on national television they had overthrown the country’s president Mohamed Bazoum, who was democratically elected in 2021.
“We, the Defense and Security Forces, united within the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, have decided to put an end to the regime you know,” Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane said, according to Agence France-Presse. “This follows the continuing deterioration of the security situation, and poor economic and social governance,” he added.
A change of regime in Niger could be a blow to the West — and more specifically to France and the United States, who have strong ties to the West African nation.
For both Paris and Washington, Niger is a strategic country in the fight against Islamist terrorism. Viewed as “one of the most reliable U.S. allies” against al Qaeda, Islamic State and Boko Haram, it’s also one of the last Sahel nations that hasn’t deepened cooperation with Russia to the West’s detriment.
According to Le Monde, there are no obvious signs of Moscow’s footprint in the Niger coup, which is mostly driven by internal matters.
However the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit led by Yevgeny Prigozhin that is active in Africa, claimed credit for the coup Thursday.
“What happened is the struggle of the people of Niger against the colonialists,” Prigozhin said in a voice message posted in a Wagner-branded Telegram channel. “This is actually gaining independence and getting rid of the colonialists.” ㅤ “This shows the effectiveness of Wagner,” Prigozhin continued. “A thousand Wagner fighters are able to restore order and destroy terrorists, preventing them from harming the civilian population of states.”
The same channel also posted a photo of Prigozhin shaking hands with an unidentified man on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit being hosted in St Petersburg by President Vladimir Putin. The posts appeared intended as a demonstration of strength by Prigozhin, who led a mutiny last month in which his troops marched to within 200 km of Moscow before standing down.
For France, Bazoum’s forced departure would mark yet another setback in the region, only months after French troops had to withdraw from neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, effectively ending the Barkhane operation.
Paris, whose influence in West Africa has been significantly waning in recent years, has reportedly deployed about 1,500 French soldiers in Niger. The government in Niger has expressed satisfaction at the bilateral military agreement. The country was supposed to be a “laboratory” for a new type of military relationship based on equal-footing cooperation between France — a former colonial power — and African governments.
The French foreign affairs ministry issued a statement overnight expressing “concerns” about the events, adding it “firmly condemns any attempt to seize power by force.” The ministry also released a warning message for French citizens living in Niger, urging them to limit movements and follow safety instructions.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Bazoum overnight and expressed the U.S.’s “unwavering” support. “The strong U.S. economic and security partnership with Niger depends on the continuation of democratic governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights,” according to a statement.
For France, the coup’s timing is challenging, as French President Emmanuel Macron is on a five-day visit to the Indo-Pacific region with his Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu and most of his staff. Blinken is currently also in the region.
Douglas Busvine contributed to this report. This story has been updated with comments by Prigozhin.
At least 44 civilians were killed in two separate attacks on villages in northern Burkina Faso, authorities there said.
A local governor, Rodolphe Sorgho, blamed terrorists for the “despicable and barbaic” attacks, without naming a specific group.
In a statement Sorgho gave his “sincere condolences to the grieving families and wishes a rapid recovery to the wounded.”
Few other details were available about the incidents, but a resident of one of the villages told AFP “a large number of terrorists” attacked late on Thursday, with gunfire sounding throughout the night.
Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest counties and has become the epicenter of violence carried out by Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The violence began in neighboring Mali in 2012 but has since spread across the arid expanse of the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert.
Large areas of the north and east of Burkina Faso have become ungovernable since 2018. Millions have fled their homes, fearing further raids by gunmen who frequently descend on rural communities on motorbikes. Thousands have been killed.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday for his country to build “a new, balanced relationship” with Africa, as the former colonial power seeks to reduce its military presence on the continent.
“The objective of this new era is to deploy our security presence in a partnership-based approach,” Macron said in a speech in Paris, ahead of a tour that will take him to Gabon, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo later this week.
In the future, French military bases on the continent will be “co-administered” with local personnel, the French president said, while there will be a “visible decrease” in the number of French troops stationed in Africa over the next few months.
The news comes as France has faced increasing opposition from local governments over its continued military presence in several of its former colonies, and was forced to withdraw hundreds of troops from Mali, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso over the past year. Around 5,000 French soldiers remain stationed on various bases throughout the continent.
But Paris’ waning influence — particularly in the Sahel region — has also allowed Russia to expand its reach in Africa, including in the digital sphere through the use of disinformation campaigns, as well as on the ground with mercenaries from the Wagner group, who in some cases have replaced French soldiers.
The French president said his country would steer away from “anachronistic” power struggles in Africa, saying African countries should be considered as “partners,” both militarily and economically.
“Africa isn’t [anyone’s] backyard, even less so a continent where Europeans and French should dictate its framework for development,” Macron said.
The military government of Burkina Faso has demanded the departure of French troops from the country, according to the government press agency Agence d’Information du Burkina (AIB).
France has exactly one month to remove its troops from Burkina Faso, according to the terms of the 2018 agreement, AIB reported, citing sources.
The military government “denounced last Wednesday, the agreement which has governed since 2018, the presence of the French Armed Forces on its territory,” AIB reported Saturday.
France still has 400 special forces based in Burkina Faso, according to Reuters, to help fight Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State after years of violence in the region.
On Friday, residents in the capital Ouagadougou took to the streets to protest the presence of French troops in the country.
Video from the protest showed protesters carrying signs with the slogans “French army get out our house” and “Friendship Burkina Russia.”
Some protesters carried the national flags of Burkina Faso and Russia.
In December, Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo said the Burkina Faso military government invited in mercenaries from the Russian private military group, Wagner.
Burkina Faso Deputy Minister for Regional Cooperation, Jean Marie Traoré called the claims “very serious” in a press conference on December 16 after the government summoned the Ghanaian ambassador.
France – the former colonial power – first entered the Sahel region in January 2013 at Mali’s request and launched Operation Serval, a United Nations-sanctioned ground and air operation against Islamist militants.
The mission was succeeded in August 2014 by Operation Barkhane, a broader French anti-terror initiative targeting Islamists across the Sahel, including in Burkina Faso.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced in June 2021 that the mission would be replaced by a more international effort, and Western troops began withdrawing from Mali in February last year though they remain in Burkina Faso.
On January 24, 2022, Burkina Faso’s army seized power, deposing former President Roch Kaboré and dissolving the government and parliament.
The military suspended the constitution and closed borders. Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba was installed as the West African country’s new leader.
Damiba’s time in power proved short-lived, however, as he was ousted from the country’s top position during a coup d’état in October 2022. Army Captain Ibrahim Traoré was subsequently appointed as the country’s new president.
In a story published January 2, 2023, about the French ambassador in Burkina Faso, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Burkina Faso has expelled the ambassador
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Volunteer militia groups supporting Burkina Faso’s army have killed dozens of civilians of the ethnic Fulani group, including children, in the troubled country’s west, a local rights group charged on Tuesday.
The military supporters killed nearly 30 civilians last week in Nouna town, a predominately Fulani and Muslim community, according to Daouda Diallo, executive secretary of the civic group, the Collective Against Impunity and Stigmatization of Communities. Burkina Faso’s Fulani people have been increasingly targeted by the military and local defense militias because they are suspected of supporting the West African country’s Islamic extremist rebels that have been inflicting violence on the country for years.
“They (support militia) essentially targeted resourceful or influential people and the able-bodied members of the community, resulting in the loss of many human lives,” said Diallo. The killings in Nouna were revenge attacks by volunteer fighters after jihadis attacked their headquarters, he said.
Burkina Faso’s government said it has launched an investigation into the killings of at least 28 people. In a statement Monday, Armel Sama Burkina Faso’s prosecutor called on the population to remain calm during the investigation and said the government would arrest the perpetrators who conducted acts of “unprecedented gravity.”
Extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have killed thousands and displaced nearly 2 million people in Burkina Faso over the past seven years. Lack of confidence in the government’s ability to stem the extremist violence led to two coups in Burkina Faso last year.
Violence against the Fulani people has increased since the country’s new junta leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, seized power in September, allege rights groups. Between October and January Diallo’s group documented nearly 250 cases of extrajudicial killings compared to 95 in the previous four months, said Diallo.
There were more initiatives for dialogue between communities and the jihadis under the rule of the previous junta leader, Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, which might have resulted in fewer killings, he said.
In an attempt to stem jihadi violence, the government has recruited tens of thousands of civilian volunteers to fight alongside the army. Both groups have been accused by rights groups of committing atrocities against civilians. Many Fulani community members say they’re equally afraid of the jihadis as they are of the volunteer militias.
Burkina Faso’s government didn’t immediately respond to questions about the alleged abuses. In his New Year’s speech to the nation, Traore thanked the volunteer fighters for their patriotism.
But across Burkina Faso, residents charge that the volunteers are rounding up civilians and killing them.
In December, seven volunteers abducted a father and son from their shop in Kongoussi town in the Center North region, Yacouba Diallo a resident who said he witnessed their abduction told The Associated Press by phone. The men were found dead in the forest two days later, the father had two gunshots to his body and the son was slaughtered with a knife, said Diallo.
As jihadi violence escalates, conflict analysts warn these killings will increase.
“I think we are currently seeing a grim turn in the crisis in Burkina Faso, as there has clearly been an increase in extrajudicial killings in recent weeks and the events in Nouna are the culmination of this trend,” said Heni Nsaibia, a senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
“There is an imminent risk of further mass atrocities in the near future, possibly committed by any of the parties involved in the conflict,” he said.
President Nana Akufo-Addo alleged during the US-Africa Leaders Summit that Burkina Faso has hired Russian mercenaries.
Burkina Faso has summoned Ghana’s ambassador to protest allegations that the embattled Sahel nation has hired Russian mercenaries, the foreign ministry says.
The summons on Friday was issued after Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo alleged on Wednesday that Burkina Faso had hired the mercenaries.
“Today, Russian mercenaries are on our northern border. Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there,” Akufo-Addo said at the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.
Speaking alongside United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Akufo-Addo also alleged that Burkina Faso had offered Wagner a mine as payment.
In a statement issued after its meeting with Ghana’s ambassador, Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had “expressed disapproval” about the statements made by the Ghanaian president.
“Ghana could have undertaken exchanges with the Burkinabe authorities on the security issue in order to have the right information,” it said.
However, it did not confirm or deny the allegations. In a separate message to Reuters, a foreign ministry spokesperson said, without elaborating: “In any case, Burkina has not called on Wagner.”
Burkina Faso also recalled its ambassador from Ghana for a meeting, the spokesperson said.
Authorities in Ouagadougou have not commented publicly on speculations of working with Wagner, a mercenary group that was hired in neighbouring Mali to help fight armed groups.
In a response on Thursday to Akufo-Addo’s remarks, Wagner did not directly address Ghana’s concerns. But the response, attributed to Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused Western governments and United Nations forces of carrying out some of the offences Wagner has been accused of in Africa.
The prospect of Wagner expanding its presence in Africa has troubled Western powers such as France and the US, who say the group exploits mineral resources and commits human rights abuses in countries where it operates.
Burkina Faso’s government spokesman did not answer calls and did not reply to a message requesting comment.
An official at Ghana’s foreign ministry said no one was immediately available for comment.
Burkina Faso is struggling to contain some of the same armed groups present in Mali and, like its neighbour, is ruled by a military government that came to power on promises to improve security.
Mali’s decision to employ Wagner forces last year alienated it from its regional and Western allies and was one of the reasons why French forces pulled out of the country.
Wagner forces have also fought in Libya, the Central African Republic and Mozambique.
CONAKRY, Guinea — The government led by Guinea’s coup leader reached an agreement late Friday with West African regional mediators on a schedule for holding new elections a little over two years from now.
The regional bloc known as ECOWAS has spent more than a year negotiating with Col. Mamady Doumbouya’s government following the September 2021 coup and had imposed sanctions on the junta leadership. It was not immediately known how soon those might be lifted.
The junta initially proposed a three-year transition, which was rejected by the regional mediators who already had obtained two-year transition deals after similar coups in both Mali and Burkina Faso. Guinea’s two-year clock starts in January, with elections then due in early 2025.
For some, the news was bittersweet as demonstrations protesting the duration of the transition in Guinea have turned deadly, including three killed Thursday.
“It took more than 17 deaths to reach a consensus,” complained Aly Baldé, whose brother was shot dead in Conakry.
Guinea became the second country hit by a recent coup in West Africa, a little over a year after Mali’s military junta overthrew that country’s democratically elected ruler. Since then, Burkina Faso has seen two coups of its own.
Burkina Faso and Mali already have agreed with ECOWAS on election dates — Mali’s is scheduled to be held by March 2024, but the situation in Burkina Faso is now in doubt after the latest coup there.
A deal had been reached with the man who first toppled Burkina Faso’s president in January to hold a vote by July 2024. But it remains to be seen whether Capt. Ibrahim Traore, who seized power on Sept. 30, will fully honor that agreement.
ECOWAS has said that Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso will all remain suspended from the bloc until elections are held.
Beyond setting dates, ECOWAS also has expressed concerns about what shape the future elections will take and whether the coup leaders turned interim presidents will be allowed to run as candidates.
Earlier this month, Doumbouya reiterated that neither he nor any member of the junta or the transitional government would take part in the eventual elections now due by January 2025.
Doumbouya emerged as the leader after mutinous soldiers overthrew President Alpha Conde last year.
Conde had won a landmark 2010 election after decades of dictatorship and strongman rule in Guinea, only to eventually try to seek a third term in office. He claimed the country’s term limits did not apply to him. While he succeeded in winning a third term, he was overthrown nine months later.
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Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.
The mediator sent to Burkina Faso by West Africa’s main political and economic bloc ECOWAS, Mahamadou Issoufou, on Tuesday said he was satisfied by a meeting with the country’s new military leader Ibrahim Traore.
Issoufou added that the 15-member bloc would continue accompanying Burkina Faso’s transition to constitutional rule after the country was hit by its second military takeover this year.
ECOWAS had repeatedly urged the junta that took control on Friday to respect a timetable agreed with their predecessors to return to constitutional rule by July 2024.
“We had very profound exchanges. Very frank exchanges,” Issoufou told reporters after meeting religious leaders and Traore in the capital Ouagadougou.
“I can assure you that ECOWAS will remain with the people of Burkina Faso … and the difficult challenge they face,” he added.
Burkina Faso’s government released a statement saying the meeting took place but provided no further comments.
The meeting took place against a backdrop of protests in Ouagadougou that forced the delegation to stay at the airport rather than travel to a conference hall in the city center for security reasons, a diplomatic source said.
Dozens of demonstrators blocked access to the conference center on Tuesday morning to prevent the meeting from taking place, a Reuters reporter said.
The crowds remained relatively small and peaceful.
But they followed violent anti-France protests over the weekend that flared after Traore said Damiba had taken refuge in a French military base, which France denied.
Some accused the bloc of siding with France, Burkina Faso’s former colonizer, and doing little to help the country tackle a rampant Islamist insurgency that has killed hundreds, displaced thousands, and pushed besieged towns in the north to the brink of famine.
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Burkina Faso’s new junta leader said Monday that the West African nation will still aim to hold an election by 2024 or even earlier, as regional mediators delayed their visit following the country’s second coup this year.
The power grab by Capt. Ibrahim Traore is the latest setback for the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, which has tried to steer three of its 15 countries back toward democracy after a spate of coups in West Africa over the last two years.
Burkina Faso’s latest coup, announced Friday on state television, has raised fears that the country’s political chaos could produce more violence from the region’s Islamic extremists.
ECOWAS had reached an agreement with ousted leader Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba to hold a new vote by July 2024. Damiba, who himself had seized power in a coup early this year, agreed to resign Sunday and left for the neighboring nation of Togo.
In an interview with Radio France Internationale that aired Monday, Traore said the goal of an election by July 2024 is still possible.
“We hope that the return to normal constitutional order will take place even before that date, if the situation allows it,” he told RFI.
A visit from an ECOWAS delegation was postponed from Monday to Tuesday, local media reported.
Burkina Faso’s last democratically elected president was overthrown by Damiba in January amid frustrations that his government had not been able to stop extremist attacks. But the jihadi violence, which has killed thousands and forced 2 million to flee their homes, continued and has now brought an end to Damiba’s tenure, too.
The new leader told journalists over the weekend that conditions remained poor for soldiers in the field. Damiba had not done enough to improve that, he said.
“I go on patrol with my men and we don’t have the basic logistics,” he told Voice of America. “In some villages, the trees don’t have leaves because people eat the leaves. They eat weeds. We’ve proposed solutions that will enable us to protect these people, but we are not listened to.”
In a video recorded after Damiba’s resignation Sunday, the ousted leader said the coup had left at least two people dead and nine wounded.
“In view of the risks of division within our army, and considering the higher interest of Burkina Faso, I have renounced my function as head of state and president of the transition,” he said.
In recent days, Traore’s followers have waved Russian flags and called for military support to help fight the jihadis, as neighboring Mali has done with Russia’s Wagner Group. However, those Russian mercenary forces have been accused of human rights abuses and some fear their involvement in Burkina Faso would only make things worse.
It remains to be seen whether Traore and his forces can turn around the crisis as international condemnation of the new coup mounts. The political chaos erupted into unrest over the weekend as protesters attacked the French Embassy in the capital of Ouagadougou and several other buildings associated with France around the country.
The violence came after a junta representative said on state television that Damiba had sought refuge at a French military base in Burkina Faso. France denied the allegation and any involvement in the coup.
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Mednick reported from Barcelona. Associated Press journalists Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal and Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris contributed.
As a heavily armed convoy drove through a cheering crowd in Burkina Faso’s capital on Sunday morning, the boyish face of the country’s latest military ruler, Captain Ibrahim Traore, emerged from the turret of an armored personnel carrier.
Sporting fatigues and a red beret, the 34-year-old smiled and raised his thumb as onlookers welcomed him, some by waving Russian flags.
Traore, a relatively low-ranking officer who days earlier was running an artillery regiment in a small northern town, has been catapulted onto the world stage since he and a group of soldiers overthrew President Paul-Henri Damiba in a Sept. 30 coup.
Little is known about Traore and his colleagues, who since Friday have delivered statements on national television brandishing guns, ammunition belts, and masks.
They face gigantic challenges to alleviate hardship in one of the world’s poorest countries where drought, food shortages, and creaking health and education systems provide daily challenges for millions. Yet the initial focus has been conflict and politics.
In an interview with Radio France International on Monday, Traore, a career soldier who has fought on the front lines against Islamist militants in the north, insisted he would not be in charge for long.
A national conference will appoint a new interim ruler by the end of the year. That leader, who could be civilian or military, will honor an agreement with West Africa’s regional bloc and oversee a return to civilian rule by 2024, he said.
“We did not come to continue, we did not come for a particular purpose,” he said. “All that matters when the level of security returns is the fight, it’s development.”
Still, an early picture has emerged of what Traore’s junta intends to do with its time in power.
Their moves, which may include army reform and ties to new international partners such as Russia, could alter politics in West Africa and change how Burkina Faso fights an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee.
Army officers initially supported Damiba when he took power in his own coup in January, promising to defeat the Islamists. But they quickly lost patience. Damiba refused to reform the army, Traore’s junta said. Attacks worsened. Just last week, at least 11 soldiers were killed in an attack in the north.
Meanwhile, Russia has expressed support for the coup just as regional neighbors and western powers condemned it.
“I salute and support Captain Ibrahim Traore,” read a statement from Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of private military company Wagner Group, which has operations across Africa, including in Burkina Faso’s neighbor Mali.
Ties with Russia would put a further strain on relations with former colonial power France, which has provided military support in recent years but has become the target of pro-Russian protests. Its embassy in Ouagadougou was attacked in the aftermath of Friday’s coup.
Wagner’s entry into Mali last year spelled the end to France’s decade-long mission to contain Islamists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State who have since spread into Burkina Faso.
Wagner and the Malian army have since been accused by rights groups and witnesses of widespread abuses, including the killing of hundreds of civilians in the town of Moura in March.
Burkina Faso’s new leaders on Saturday stoked anti-French rioting when they said in a statement on television that France had sheltered Damiba at a military base and that he was planning a counter-offensive.
The French foreign ministry denied the base had hosted Damiba.
Traore is on a crash course in diplomacy. He downplayed the link between Damiba and France and called an end to the protests. About ties with Russia, he was vague.
“There are many partners. France is a partner. There is no particular target,” he told RFI.
Meanwhile, he must juggle everyday problems. On Sunday, he arrived in military fatigues for a meeting with ministerial officials which was streamed online.
Can the junta guarantee the safety of schools that reopen this week, they asked their new leader. What is being done about a tender for a railway link to Ghana?
Traore, who had to consult with advisers, did not have all the answers.
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Regional mediators were headed to Burkina Faso on Monday in the wake of the West African country’s second coup this year amid concern the latest power grab could further postpone elections and deepen the region’s Islamic extremist violence.
News that the delegation from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS is traveling to the capital, Ouagadougou, came after diplomats confirmed that Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba had left for the neighboring nation of Togo following talks mediated by religious leaders.
Burkina Faso’s new leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, 34, is officially head of state pending future elections, the junta announced Sunday. While ECOWAS, a 15-nation West African bloc, had reached an agreement to hold a new vote by July 2024, it remained unclear whether that date would still hold.
Burkina Faso’s last democratically elected president was overthrown by Damiba in January amid frustration that his government had not been able to stop extremist attacks. But the jihadi violence, which has killed thousands and forced 2 million to flee their homes, continued and has now brought an end to Damiba’s tenure, too.
The new leader told journalists in interviews over the weekend that conditions remained poor for soldiers in the field. Damiba had not done enough to improve that situation, Traore said.
“I go on patrol with my men and we don’t have the basic logistics,” he told Voice of America. “In some villages, the trees don’t have leaves because people eat the leaves. They eat weeds. We’ve proposed solutions that will enable us to protect these people, but we are not listened to. We made so many proposals.”
In recent days, Traore’s followers have waved Russian flags and called for military support to help fight the jihadis, as neighboring Mali has done with Russia’s Wagner Group. However, those Russian mercenary forces have been accused of human rights abuses and some fear their involvement in Burkina Faso would only make things worse.
It remains to be seen whether Traore and his forces can turn around the crisis as international condemnation of the new coup mounts. The political chaos erupted into unrest over the weekend as protesters attacked the French Embassy in the capital and several other buildings associated with France around the country.
The anti-French sentiment swelled further after a junta representative said on state television that Damiba had sought refuge at a French military base in Burkina Faso. France vehemently denied the allegation and any involvement in the unfolding events.
The 4,000 French citizens registered in Burkina Faso are urged to stay at their homes, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said.
“The situation is very volatile in Burkina Faso,” she told The Associated Press on Sunday in Paris. “There have been serious violations of the security of our diplomatic presence. Unacceptable violations that we condemn.”
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Mednick reported from Barcelona. Associated Press journalists Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal and Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris contributed.
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Burkina Faso’s new junta leadership called for an end to the unrest Sunday, a day after angry protesters attacked the French Embassy and other buildings following the West African nation’s second coup this year.
In a statement broadcast on state television, junta spokesman Capt. Kiswendsida Farouk Azaria Sorgho called on people to “desist from any act of violence and vandalism to prevent the efforts made since (Friday) night, especially those that could be perpetrated against the French Embassy or the French military base.”
Saturday’s violence has been condemned by the French Foreign Ministry, which denied any involvement in the events unfolding in Ouagadougou, the capital.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the violence against our diplomatic presence in Burkina Faso,” the French Foreign Ministry said late Saturday. “Any attack on our diplomatic facilities is unacceptable.”
Anti-French sentiment rose sharply after an earlier junta announcement alleged that ousted interim president Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba was sheltering at a French military base. France vehemently denied the allegation, but soon protesters with torches thronged the perimeter of the French Embassy in Ouagadougou.
Damiba’s whereabouts were still unknown Sunday though a statement attributed to him was posted on the Burkina Faso presidency’s Facebook page late Saturday. In it, he called on the new coup leaders “to come to their senses to avoid a fratricidal war that Burkina Faso does not need.”
Unlike other ousted West African leaders, Damiba has yet to issue a resignation though the junta said he has been removed from power in their announcement Friday night on state television.
The events unfolding in Burkina Faso have deepened fears that the political chaos will divert attention from the country’s unabated Islamic insurgency, a crisis that has forced 2 million people from their homes and left thousands dead in recent years.
Damiba came to power in January promising to secure the country from jihadi violence. However, the situation only deteriorated as jihadis imposed blockades on towns and have intensified attacks. Last week, at least 11 soldiers were killed and 50 civilians went missing after a supply convoy was attacked by gunmen in Gaskinde commune in the Sahel. The group of officers led by Capt. Ibrahim Traore said Friday that Damiba had failed and was being removed.
Conflict analysts say Damiba was probably too optimistic about what he could achieve in the short term, which raised expectations, but that a change at the top didn’t mean that the country’s security situation would improve.
“The problems are too profound and the crisis is deeply rooted,” said Heni Nsaibia, a senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. “It is hard to imagine that this disunity among the armed forces and the ongoing turmoil will help resolve an already extremely volatile situation.”
He expected that “militant groups will most likely continue to exploit” the country’s political disarray.
As uncertainty prevailed, the international community widely condemned the ouster of Damiba, who himself overthrew the country’s democratically elected president in January.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States “is deeply concerned by events in Burkina Faso.”
“We call on those responsible to de-escalate the situation, prevent harm to citizens and soldiers, and return to a constitutional order,” he said.
The African Union and the West African region bloc known as ECOWAS also sharply criticized the developments.
“ECOWAS finds this new power grab inappropriate at a time when progress has been made,” the bloc said, citing Damiba’s recent agreement to return to constitutional order by July 2024.
Still, to some in Burkina Faso’s military, Damiba was seen as too cozy with former colonizer France, which maintains a military presence in Africa’s Sahel region to help countries fight Islamic extremists. Some who support the new coup leader, Traore, have called on Burkina Faso’s government to seek Russian support instead.
In neighboring Mali, the coup leader has invited Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to help with security, a move than has drawn global condemnation and accusations of human rights abuses.
——— Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed.
