Burkina Faso, which is unable to put an end to jihadist violence, wants “rethinking war” favoring dialogue. This initiative only concerns local armed groups with no links to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State organizations.
The junta which overthrew the elected president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on January 24, announced at the beginning of April the creation of “local dialogue committees”. They are made up of religious leaders, customary and traditional leaders responsible for bringing reason to young Burkinabè who have joined armed groups. According to the intelligence services, there are about ten “endogenous groups” born in Burkina and having, a priori, no or no more links with the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State organizations which have been raging in Mali, Niger and Burkina for several years.
“Most of the fighters are Burkinabè, they are not foreigners from elsewhere, not extraterrestrials. They are children from the villages that the populations very often know.”
Yéro Boly, Burkinabè Minister for National Reconciliation.at AFP
The Special Intervention Unit of the National Gendarmerie (USIGN), which leads the fight against terrorism, wants “rethinking war” and do it differently. In parallel with the military operations launched against the major jihadist organizations, it wishes to maintain indirect links with Burkinabè fighters and encourage them to lay down their arms.
The latter would themselves have expressed their desire first “to speak”, according to the Minister of National Reconciliation. At this stage, the exact terms of the talks remain unclear. Officially, the state does not provide financial aid to demobilized combatants. Those who lay down their arms will be accompanied to work in the agriculture and livestock sector.
This indirect dialogue is not unprecedented. Local representatives have in the past held talks with local armed groups without much result. By announcing a new initiative, the ruling junta would like to show that the security issue remains “his priority”. Suspected jihadist attacks have increased in recent weeks, killing around 100 civilians and soldiers.