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A6 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 14 June 2022
Jihadi attacks mount in Burkina Faso despite junta's efforts

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina week, 11 gendarmes were
Faso (AP) — The mutinous killed by jihadis in Seno
soldiers who ousted Burki- province in the Sahel, said
na Faso's democratically the army in a statement.
elected president early this The government is losing
year vowed they would do control of swaths of land,
a better job at stopping particularly in the Center
the jihadi violence rocking North and Sahel regions, as
the country. Five months jihadis have increased their
later, however, attacks are use of roadside bombs and
increasing and patience use more sophisticated
with the junta appears to weapons.
be waning. Government soldiers say
Many in Burkina Faso sup- they lack equipment and
ported the military takeover must resort to stealing guns
in January, frustrated with and ammunition from ji-
the previous government's hadis they kill. Seeing so
inability to stem Islamic ex- many of their colleagues
tremist violence that has die also has taken its toll,
killed thousands and dis- the soldiers say.
placed at least 2 million. Lt. "Our situation is very dif-
Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo ficult. Sometimes the en-
Damiba, who led the coup emy kills us because we're
and was later installed as regularly exhausted," said a
interim president, vowed to A man holds a portrait of Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba who has taken the reins of Burkina soldier, who spoke on con-
restore security. Faso, in Ouagadougou, Jan. 25, 2022. dition of anonymity as he
But violence linked to al- Associated Press wasn't authorized to speak
Qaida and the Islamic to journalists.
State increased nearly 7% The latest attack hap- spread of jihadist activity in with field experience and Jihadis are changing strat-
during the junta's first three pened in northern Burkina the Gulf of Guinea states — created a central coordi- egy. They are targeting wa-
months of rule compared Faso over the weekend Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast nation unit for military op- ter sources, destroying 32
with the three months prior, when suspected extremists and Togo — where there erations. His government facilities this year which has
according to the Armed killed at least 55 people, already is jihadist recruit- also has supported local reduced access to near-
Conflict Location & Event authorities said Monday. ment and violence," said dialogues with jihadis to try ly 300,000 people, said a
Data Project. Nearly 5,000 people have Michael Shurkin, director to convince the fighters to group of aid organizations
"Beyond the immeasurable died in the last two years of global programs at 14 put down their arms and re- operating in the country.
suffering, the effects of in Burkina Faso and conflict North Strategies, a consul- turn to their homes. "The conflict is now put-
the violence and conflict experts say there will be far- tancy based in Dakar, Sen- Yet violence is intensifying. ting at risk the very thing no
— which show no signs of reaching consequences if egal. Since April at least 30 secu- one can live without: clean
abating — are likely to lead the violence continues to Damiba has asked citizens rity forces have been killed water," said Rebecca
to renewed popular dis- worsen. to give him until September and two foreigners kid- Bouchet-Petersen, country
content," said Heni Nsaibia, "The decline in Burkina to see improvement. He's napped: an American nun director for Solidarity Inter-
senior researcher at ACLED. Faso will absolutely fuel the promoted younger officers and a Polish citizen. Last national in Burkina Faso.q

North Korea plans crackdown as Kim pushes for internal unity

state media reported Mon- officials," the official Korean tions on movement in the
day, as Kim seeks greater Central News Agency said. wake of the COVID-19 out-
internal unity to overcome Kim ordered the author- break could cause a fur-
a COVID-19 outbreak and ity of the party's auditing ther strain on the country's
economic difficulties. commission and other lo- economic difficulties, some
It wasn't clear what spe- cal discipline supervision experts say.
cific acts were mentioned systems to be bolstered to North Korea on May 12 ad-
at the ruling Workers' Party promote the party's "mono- mitted the omicron variant
meeting on Sunday. But lithic leadership" and "the of the coronavirus had in-
possible state crackdowns broad political activities fected people, and it sub-
on such alleged acts could of the party through the sequently has said about
be an attempt to solidify strong discipline system," 4.5 million people — more
Kim's control of his people KCNA said. than 17% of its 26 million
and get them to rally be- Kim has previously occa- people — have fallen ill
hind his leadership in the sionally called for struggles with fevers and only 72
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North face of the domestic hard- against "anti-socialist prac- have died. Foreign experts
Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting of the ruling
Workers’ Party’s Central Committee in Pyongyang, North Korea ships, some observers say. tices" at home in the past widely doubt the outbreak
Sunday, June 12, 2022. Kim and other senior par- two years amid outside was North Korea's first, and
Associated Press ty secretaries discussed worries about his country's they believe the statistics
"waging a more intensive fragile economy that has being disclosed in state
By HYUNG-JIN KIM deputies have pushed for struggle against unsound been battered by pan- media are manipulated to
Associated Press a crackdown on officials and non-revolutionary acts demic-related border shut- prevent political damage
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) who abuse their power and including abuse of power downs, U.N. sanctions and to Kim while bolstering in-
— North Korean leader commit other "unsound and and bureaucratism re- his own mismanagement. ternal control and promot-
Kim Jong Un and his top non-revolutionary acts," vealed among some party The North's elevated restric- ing his leadership.q