Traoré’s takeover: Burkina Faso’s second coup in 2022

The recent coup is a sign of instability. If Traoré does not de-escalate the violence in the country, he could be ousted in a short time.

burkina Faso

Ibrahim Traoré took over as interim leader of Burkina Faso on 30 September 2022. This is the second military coup in Burkina Faso in 2022. Traoré now stands as the world’s youngest head of state at age 34. Traoré announced that his rule is temporary and that civilian rule will be re-established in 2024. There will be an interim leader installed at the end of the year. Traoré has promised to fight insecurity and has called for national unity. This comes at a time of violent fighting and horrible food insecurity.

This coup comes from months of dissatisfaction with the previous leader, Paul-Henri Damiba. Damiba’s rule was supposed to lead to the end of a violent civil war in Burkina Faso that lasted nearly seven years. Instead, violence has only escalated in 2022. Traoré is an experienced soldier and has seen firsthand the war against groups like ISIS and Al Queda in his country.

Damiba took over earlier this year in a bid to stabilise the country in a time of near Civil War. However, younger military officers had lost patience with Damiba as he did not implement any substantial changes that would stop ISIS or Al Queada. Attacks got worse over the years. Many soldiers felt that Damiba was not serious about ending the war. Damiba has gone into hiding.

There are concerns that Burkina Faso is a battleground between different military powers.

The Russian government has called for stability and order in Burkina Faso. Many western powers are concerned that the new Burkina Faso government is going to be a Russian ally, tracing links of the military officers involved in the coup with a network of private mercenary forces linked to the Russian government.

The French government has expressed concern for the safety of its citizens in Burkina Faso. Supporters of the coup have thrown rocks at the French embassy, though the government has resisted such acts, using teargas to suppress the demonstrations and have called for people to desist from any acts of vandalism.

In Burkina Faso, there has been a long history of civilian governments being close to Western powers, and popular leaders emerging from the military, such as Thomas Sankara. While there is no direct way to know how popular the new government is, there is widespread discontent in the country over the violence they have seen.

Military unrest after decades of civilian rule

Until 2015, Burkina Faso was ruled by Blaise Compaore. Compaore was the second President of the country and tried to reverse the Left-wing and Pan-Africanist policies of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara. He ruled Burkina Faso from 1987-2014. Compaore was seen as politically close to France and the US. He helped develop a strong military alliance in fighting Al Queada, ISIS, Boko Haram and other similar groups in the area. He also aided in mediation in conflicts with neighbouring Cote D’Ivoire and Mali.

Compaore should have had a shorter term in office, as the Burkinabe Constitution had term limits on the Presidency. These limits were not applied to Compaore. When Compaore tried to formally amend the constitution to scrap term limits in 2014, thousands protested. Fearing an uprising, Compaore stepped down in 2015.

Begining of instability

Compaore’s successor was Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. Kaboré was the first elected head of Burkina Faso to have no ties to the military. During his term, insurgency by groups like ISIS began to climb.

Since the Arab Spring in 2011, militant revivalist groups like ISIS and many splinter groups have taken advantage of the situation. Northern Africa, particularly the Sahel region has been badly affected. By 2014, the war had spread to neighbouring countries. Owing to huge rural-to-urban migration and poor development in rural areas, these groups have been able to set up bases in the hinterlands and wage war with the local governments. Burkina Faso began to see infiltration in 2015.

The war on terror had a horrible effect on countries in Northern Africa. Neo-liberal policies meant that huge parts of these countries would be left behind, making them prime targets for revivalist militant groups. Organizing on progressive lines had been made impossible. Military cooperation with Western powers meant that the army would get more powerful, leading to many military coups in the region.

Since 2015, it has been estimated that nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the insurgency and nearly 20,00,000 have been displaced. Stories of massacres of civilians would be on the news regularly in these years and would get worse day by day. After a protracted war which did not see any end, many in Burkina Faso felt that military rule would be preferred.

First Coup

In January 2022, a group of military army officers overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kobore and installed a military government. Paul-Henri Damiba became the head of state.

coup
Burkina Faso former President Roch Kabore ousted in a military coup in Jan 2022

Damiba was a popular military officer, well-known for his operations against the insurgents. Damibawas a Lieutenant Colonel, and was known for a strong hand against the militants. In 2015, Damiba testified in a trial regarding the 2015 coup. He has also called for use of foreign mercenaries, particularly from Russia, in the war against terrorism, though the Kobore refused. In 2021, France also began to withdraw militarily from Africa.

Damiba founded the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration and for military junta to head the government, to eventually restore civilian rule after two years. However, fighting continued, and the insurgent groups even gained ground in 2022. This led many people, even within the army, to feel disgruntled.

Uncertainty to come

The recent coup is a sign of instability. If Traoré does not de-escalate the violence in the country, he could be ousted in a short time. Within the army and among the people, there is shrinking patience with the violence in the country. Traoré represents a younger, less patient and more ambitious wing of the army. His supporters expect change and may be less patient than they were with Damiba, but after Traoré, it is not clear who would be left. What is important to most of the people in Burkina Faso is peace.

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March 2024
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