Burkina Faso: Islamist Militants’ New Haven in the Sahel

The exterior of the Splendid Hotel was damaged by militants’ car bombs in 2016. credit/BBC

Burkina Faso: Islamist Militants’ New Haven in the Sahel

Activities of Islamist militants are on the rise in the Sahel region. Armed Islamist groups, the likes of Boko Haram and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) are turning Burkina Faso into its new haven

Northern Burkina Faso, bordering Mali and Niger, has been the scene of jihadist attacks since the beginning of 2015, and have claimed 133 lives in 80 attacks, according to an official report.

Yesterday, four militants were killed after they attacked a reconnaissance patrol in northern Burkina Faso, security sources told AFP.

“Four individuals, whose identities are yet to be been determined, were shot dead this afternoon during a clash with a patrol of the Nassoumbou military detachment,” an army officer said on condition of anonymity.

“Five soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously,” he said, adding vehicles sustained “material damage” during the ambush at Ariel, near the Mali border. The resulting battle between the militants and soldiers lasted “several hours”.

Another security source in Ouagadougou said weapons and ammunition were seized from the attackers.

Despite intense military operations throughout the region to curb the activities of the radical groups, Islamist militancy continues to grow in the Sahel.

The militants have established a front in northern Burkina Faso, disrupting normal life by repeatedly carrying out attacks in the region and far beyond.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed it carried out the attacks of January 2016 which killed 30 people in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou.

Although AQIM did not say it was behind the killing of the 12 soldiers in December last year, officials believe the group was.

There are fears that the latest attack in the capital, in which at least 18 people have been killed, is the also work of one of the affiliates of al-Qaeda that are active in the Sahel region.

However, another movement, Ansarul Islam or Defenders of Islam, has emerged as the umbrella for all Islamist operations in northern Burkina Faso.

It is led by a radical imam named by officials as Ibrahim Malam Dicko.

Ansarul Islam claimed responsibility for attacks on two police stations in the northern Soum province on 27 February.

VOA reports that over the last two years, it has been rocked by a series of attacks by jihadists, with a bleak picture for the prospects of security in the country.

Recent attacks, it said include:

January 2016: Islamist militants attack Ouagadougou hotel popular with foreigners. Western nationals among 30 people killed in country’s deadliest attack so far.

December 2016: 12 soldiers killed after attack by Islamist militants in the north, near Mali border.

March 2017: As the capital geared up for Fespaco film festival, two police posts in the north were attacked. Three people killed.

March 2017: Two people kidnapped and a school torched after jihadists threaten educational establishments. In another incident a military base was locked down after being targeted by unidentified gunmen.

August 2017: At least 18 people killed and about 20 wounded when gunmen open fire on customers seated outside a restaurant in Ouagadougou.

There is a growing concern that Islamist militants can strike anywhere, and at any time