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Burkina Faso: From an African Spring to an Aggravated Humanitarian Crisis

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This article has been written for Arthashastra Intelligence Foundation by Mudunuri Navya, Research Associate, Centre for Human Security Studies

Burkina Faso was regarded as a stable and Peaceful Country for decades in west Africa, although its neighbours Mali, Sierra Leone, Niger and Chad has been destabilised since the early 2000s. Things Changed in 2014, when Popular Protests have shaken the country, weakening  the government and subsequently replacing it with military rule. Over the years, the Protests Changed their course to Intensified Conflict, leading to Economic Constraints, Transnational Organised Crime, Transport of Illegal weapons from Libya and a civil war that has further worsened the country’s development.  The country is Plagued by the terrorists and insurgencies, and at present , Burkina Faso lost Control to over  270,764 km² of its territory and is fighting with the worst internal displacement and Humanitarian Crisis. The conflict which was initially targeted towards the government later changed to affect the civilians.

Today, Burkina Faso is home to around 1.2 Million people suffering from Food insecurity as per UN reports. The internal Displacement is reaching peaks and has seen more than 544 percent Increase in internal and external Displacement which means around 1029000 are displaced since the conflict began. More than 2,000,000 are in urgent need.The country now has no proper access to food, and basic Facilities for the sustenance of its citizens as the government  shifted from focussing on development to addressing the humanitarian Crisis.

How did Burkina Faso get here?

The Political Instability that started in the late 2000s has gradually resulted in the quest of power by Political Parties and saw an authoritarian regime progressing,  although elections prevailed. In 2015, when Compore was ousted out of Power, the military government took over the country, which was not a very good sign. The country never came back to a Peaceful government ever since and only gave rise to increased violence by jihadists, Militias, Militants and Inter Communal Attacks.

If one has to wonder why Ouagadougou has become a target of  the conflict; it should be noted that the conflict prevails in most parts of the country today. A country long known for its Peace, Stability and with a GDP growth of upto 10%, Burkina is now part of the wars of the Sahel. This marked the beginning of the crisis in Burkina Faso.

The conflict in the neighbouring countries of Burkina Faso  has slowly started impacting and spreading to the northern parts of the country, by which it experienced more than eighty attacks in 2015 alone, with the origins of conflict in troubled Mali. The number has been increasing since and has become increasingly frequent and lethal. These attacks are mostly claimed by Ansarul Islam, founded locally in 2016 and are said to have ties with groups in Mali.

Since January 2016, the country has witnessed several deadly violent attacks taking away lots of lives. Around 19 People were killed and more than 20 suffered from wounds when jihadists targeted and opened fire at a turkish restaurant in Ouagadougou. Even before the place could start breathing, more than thirty people were killed in a brutal attack claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Adding fuel to the fire, a wave of ethnic Violence broke out in Burkina Faso in 2019  backed by a Mossi crime-fighting militia that grew soon after the fall of President Blaise Compaoré, killed dozens of Fulani community after an execution of Mossi chief by jihadists ( as suspected ) in the village of Yirgou. Since then, ethnic conflicts have become most prevalent and have impacted 60 of the most tolerant Communities, threatening the notion of vivre ensemble (co-existence).

Source: International Displacement Monitoring centre

Why did Burkina Faso become an easy target?

After the downfall of the president Compaoré, the Security system of the country has become almost defunct. There was no stable security at the borders, especially the northern ones which were the most vulnerable. The Presidential Security has dismantled and since then, no other system could replace that, thus making the country an easy fish to catch.

Apart from that, the country is plagues by a number of locally formed groups such as, Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an umbrella organisation that consists of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Ansaroul Islam (Home grown islamist Group), and the Macina Liberation Front, headquartered in troubled Mali. An independent  group known as  the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), is largely active in the eastern parts of the country. Several armed groups also gave an impetus to the already existing tensions between the herders and farmers.

THE IMPACT OF CONFLICT ON COUNTRY’S FATE:

The ongoing conflict has brought many uncertainties that are beyond the country’s capability to tackle. Although assistance by the UN has helped Burkinabe to a certain extent, the fund deficit is increasing with the elevation of crisis. Since it is a low-income Sahelian country with limited natural resources. The economy is primarily based on agriculture, with 80% of the working population involved in it, the developmental problems cease to be evident. Despite the steady progress made in the past two decades, Burkina Faso faces developmental issues like the lack of Proper health and Education along with the inefficient basic infrastructure. The Country ranks 144th among 157 countries in the new human capital index  established by the World Bank and around 40.1% of the population lives below the poverty line. Adding to it, the existing insecurity linked to frequent terrorist attacks and unsuppressed violence  since 2016 has created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and does not seem to be getting any better soon.

The Sahel, Centre-Nord, Nord, Est, Haust Bassisns  and Boucle du Mouhoun regions have been increasingly  by the presence and activities of Islamist armed groups whose influence reaches from the regions bordering Mali across to the Niger border. The state of emergency began in these Provinces along with eight others  in 2019 and are the same till today. The continuous elevation of violence which peaked in 2019 has displaced more than 560,000 People Countrywide and more than 5.2 Million People are affected till date.

As much as 11,300 People are in Catastrophe (Phase 5) and are in need of urgent action and Protection. The total number of food insecure people has been increasing continuously from 687,000 from 2019 to around 1.6 million between January and May 2020. The overall rise is attributed to hit the worst Phase attributed by increasing violence, displacement, and the global Pandemic. Since the majority of Population is based on Agriculture, their livelihood is often affected by the displacement and the non availability of farmlands in the Host communities.

The entire Sahel Region is predicted to suffer from acute Malnutrition which might increase going further. As of now, around 30% of the children in Burkina Faso are acutely malnourished due to the conflict and displacement. It is also predicted that more than 370,000 children are going to suffer the same by the end of 2020. If this situation Prevails, the combined efforts of the UN and the Burkinabe Government won\’t be able to normalize the situation as per the statistics. Despite the appeal for the Urgent need, not much has been delivered till now, to Burkina Faso.

Healthcare has become a major concern for the people across the country as the violence and terrorist activities not only led to the displacement but also hampered the provision of the basic  health services. More than 50% of the health care centres are shut down and of all those functioning today, they stand inefficient as they lack proper equipment and medical Aid. The Sahel region has been facing the worst of these Problems as the conflict is highly prevalent there. Many People across the region have stopped getting treated due to lack of services.

GOING TO SCHOOL CAN BE A DANGER IN BURKINA FASO:

Ever since the conflict began, of the major areas of target have been schools as the jihadists are against secular education and western thoughts. Most of the schools have been shut down and amongst those who function lack basic facilities. Many school teachers and authorities have become targets for terrorists and so many of them have given up teaching. More than 2000 schools have shut down last year due to the increase in violence. More than 150,000 children are affected by the closure of schools as it only intensified the already existing Problem of Education. As per the estimates, only 57.9% of children could  finish primary school in 2016. The advent of COVID-19 worsened the situation as the schools faced early closures without a proper end to the academic year. It is yet Phenomenal to see that many teachers in affected regions come forward to teach with the help of UNICEF and train students to tackle the worst situations if come may. Some of the schools trained children to hide and be safe incase of terrorist activities to reduce the loss of life.

CONFLICT VS HUMANITARIAN ACCESS:

Since 2018, the intensified conflict has often hampered the provision of humanitarian Aid. Since Schools and healthcare facilities in conflict affected areas, most of those facilities are either shut down or have no access due to the presence of armed groups. Floods and attacks from armed groups and government forces, have not only intensified displacement, but further limited their access to aid and services. COVID-19 restrictions have led to the temporary suspension of certain humanitarian activities but some villages as a whole were cut off from humanitarian aid due to more stricter rules.

Source: UNICEF

As more areas become vulnerable to conflict, the lesser are those areas that are deemed to be safe. It only makes it harder  for aid groups to reach the displaced people and provide assistance to them.As per the sources, the access is not being provided to many People in Burkina Faso as there is no contact with them. It should be noted that in most cases of conflict, the authorities try to provide access in those areas which they know how to move in. Otherwise, they consider it risky. When it comes to Burkina Faso, it is a mix of both as some areas are accessible and some are not.

Drought and hunger began to impact the humanitarian access provided to people across the Sahel region of Burkina Faso. It is reported that many people are in need for food to survive until the next harvest. Over 18 Million people are affected by these droughts especially the poorer regions. As crops failed many people initially depended on markets for food, but their unaffordability and rising prices have created food insecurity throughout the region. As a result, providing relief has become more difficult. The exact situation prevails in neighboring countries of Mali, Niger, Senegal, Gambia and Chad.If the aid providers do not have access to certain communities, they try to communicate with people of that community until they believe the aid providers are legitimate. However, this is often risky.

THE IMPACT OF CONFLICT ON NEIGHBOURS:

For years, Burkina Faso has been standing in between the Sahel region and the coastal Countries. If Burkina Faso loses control over land, it might inevitably invite larger problems as the Jihadists and other terrorist groups might gain access to sea Ports down south. This means instability in the south too. According to the BBC, some of these terrorist groups have contacts in Ghana, Benin and Togo. They also quoted an example that some french tourists were abducted from a park in togo by these groups.Most reports also source the information that these terrorists groups have been plaguing the hard to reach forest areas of Togo and Benin with regular connections established with their counterparts in Mali and Northern Parts of Burkina Faso.

Source: Radio Canada International (RCI)

According to the UN, although Burkina Faso Spends more than 5% of its budget on security, it still does not suffice the needs as they remain ill equiped to fight the Jihadi Threats.Though France has landed some troops and G5 sahel countries pledged to contribute to the nation, much is yet to be delivered.

MILITARY ABUSES:

Rather than deconstructing the escalating violence, the security system in Burkina Faso has been fuelling the armed groups and are committing abuses against the vulnerable communities in the name of counter terrorism operations. They are often alleged of extrajudicial Killings, torture and violence across the region. The increase in islmaic attacks also increased the violence on civilians by the army, as they are perceived as terrorists at times. The government has been denying such remarks on the army and has stated several times that they are false allegations as the army always try to hold up for human rights and fight for citizens.

CONCLUSION:

The escalation of the crisis was not unforeseen, as the warning bells kept ringing since 2014. However, the impact was felt heavily due to the  lack of effective proactive interventions at both the national and regional level. Stakeholders at Various levels are to be blamed for this. Burkina Faso today is an example of how a country can experience severe downfall without a Proper governance and Development mechanisms. It is also evident from this country that conflict changes the world as we know it and human Rights forgo their meaning in such cases. The country is now in a phase where citizens don\’t get to cast their votes in the upcoming Presidential elections due to large scale Displacement  and aggravated humanitarian crisis. The country’s government itself ruled it unsafe to register in around 20% of its communities. Burkina Faso needs urgent attention and action and if not, it is possible for the country to lose itself to conflicts and violence and eventually wiping itself off the map. It is definitely right to stress on the point that there is a need for proactive and collaborative efforts both at the regional and international Levels to address the problems running from the basic problems like  infrastructure and development to the complex problems like human rights violations and national security.

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