Link to Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77x45y130lo
Since 2016, Burkina Faso has been victim to constant gruesome attacks by Islamic groups like Jihadists and the Islamic State (IS) that operate all over western Africa in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and more. In just this past year, there have been over 1,000 people killed by Islamic terrorism and the numbers are growing rapidly. Burkina Faso was in desperate need of better national security when Ibrahim Traoré came into power. He wanted to improve national security but since he has been in power, violence has only gotten worse for Burkina Faso. The Jihadist groups are attacking Christian communities and communities who don’t join their jihadist group. Al Qaeda linked groups are responsible for many of the attacks and have gone door to door killing men they believe to be helping the Burkina Faso military. Burkina Faso’s government can only govern half of the nation because much of the rest of the country is ruled by Jihadists groups. Even with the help of Russia, the Burkina Faso military is very weak because of poor training and this enables terrorist groups to kill many innocent lives.
This article is important because Burkina Faso needs a plan to be able to protect its national security and protect the government’s power to prevent these horrific attacks. Because of these attacks and the lack of a strong military, much of Burkina Faso is being controlled by Jihadists. With these terrorists groups in power, it may be difficult for the government to enforce laws and promote stability for the country. The violent attacks are causing many to flee and many people have been displaced in this region of Africa. Many people struggle to find basic needs because of the lack of infrastructure and access to water. These attacks have caused the economy to be unstable and trading is possibly being hindered, creating many shortages. Many of the groups that are attacking Burkina Faso are located in Mali and Niger. This violence is leading to a lot of distrust and unrest in this region of western Africa.
Something Burkina Faso needs to consider is stepping up their military strength by training their soldiers and strengthening their counter terrorism efforts. Burkina Faso could also strengthen ties with neighboring countries to gather support to fight against these Jihadists groups. Making sure they place their military on the borders of the country could help prevent terrorist groups from surrounding countries from coming in. Burkina Faso could also join together with Mali, Niger and other countries struggling terrorists groups, to share information and come together to make a strong military force. Lastly, Burkina Faso should make sure they are trying to rebuild infrastructure and have humanitarian relief and support for millions of displaced people.