MP-IDSA Commentary S

Burkina Faso Recently, the military regime in Burkina Faso dealt with a significant blow in its attempts to eradicate the jihadist threat in the country nearly two years after the coup took place in September 2022, as Al-Qaeda affiliated groups shot dead hundreds of civilians in August 2024. [...] As per the guidelines, the ASF can, besides instances of war crimes, genocide, or crimes against humanity, be deployed to a country ‘at the request of a member state to restore peace and security, in accordance with Article 4(h) and 4(J) of the AU Constitutive act.’11 However, its deployment to Mali or Burkina Faso, given the regional outcry12 to the recent coups, seems implausible to envisage at. [...] Moreover, one of the largest contributors in Africa to missions deployed in other countries affected by terrorism like Somalia, most notably Ethiopia, is in the throes of domestic and regional conflicts (including in Amhara) and is reducing its strength even in Somalia, limiting the effectiveness of regional response to security crises. [...] Finally, it is necessary to consider the Burkina Faso and Malian governments’ increasing disenchantment with the former security partners (France), placing the culpability of escalating terrorism on Ukraine’s shoulders13 on the one hand and growing closeness with the Russian government and Russian mercenary groups. [...] Disclaimer: Views expressed in Manohar Parrikar IDSA's publications and on its website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or the Government of India.