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A30 WORLD NEWS
Diamars 14 Juni 2022

Jihadi attacks mount in Burkina Faso despite junta’s efforts

By SAM MEDNICK northern Burkina Faso over of Djibo, community leaders
Associated Press the weekend when suspected say it’s a small improvement.
O U A G A D O U G O U , extremists killed at least 55 “I think it’s when the govern-
Burkina Faso (AP) — The people, authorities said Mon- ment negotiates that we’ll see
mutinous soldiers who day. more significant results,” said
ousted Burkina Faso’s Nearly 5,000 people have Boubacari Dicko, the Emir of
democratically elected died in the last two years in Djibo who led the talks.
president early this year Burkina Faso and conflict But it’s unclear if Damiba’s
vowed they would do a experts say there will be far- government is prepared to
better job at stopping the reaching consequences if the take that step. The previous
jihadi violence rocking violence continues to wors- government was publicly
the country. Five months en. against such negotiations, al-
later, however, attacks are “The decline in Burkina Faso though it did hold some in
increasing and patience will absolutely fuel the spread secret around the November
with the junta appears to of jihadist activity in the Gulf 2020 presidential election.
be waning. of Guinea states — Benin, There’s also growing discon-
Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo tent about Damiba’s crack-
Many in Burkina Faso sup- — where there already is ji- down on civic freedoms. The
ported the military takeover hadist recruitment and vio- particularly in the Center in the country. junta has restricted political
in January, frustrated with lence,” said Michael Shurkin, North and Sahel regions, as “The conflict is now putting demonstrations that could
the previous government’s director of global programs at jihadis have increased their at risk the very thing no one “disturb public order or mo-
inability to stem Islamic ex- 14 North Strategies, a con- use of roadside bombs and can live without: clean wa- bilize security forces who will
tremist violence that has sultancy based in Dakar, Sen- use more sophisticated weap- ter,” said Rebecca Bouchet- be more useful for combat.”
killed thousands and dis- egal. ons. Petersen, country director Yet locals in hard-hit parts of
placed at least 2 million. Lt. Damiba has asked citizens to Government soldiers say they for Solidarity International in Burkina Faso see few alter-
Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo give him until September to lack equipment and must re- Burkina Faso. natives to the junta and say
Damiba, who led the coup see improvement. He’s pro- sort to stealing guns and am- Most of the destruction they’re willing to give it a lit-
and was later installed as in- moted younger officers with munition from jihadis they of water sources has been tle more time. In August last
terim president, vowed to re- field experience and created a kill. Seeing so many of their around Djibo in the arid Sa- year, 45-year-old Awa Komi
store security. central coordination unit for colleagues die also has taken hel region, which hosts the tried to return to her village
But violence linked to al-Qa- military operations. His gov- its toll, the soldiers say. largest number of displaced to farm because her family
ida and the Islamic State in- ernment also has supported “Our situation is very diffi- people in the country and has had no food, but fled when
creased nearly 7% during the local dialogues with jihadis to cult. Sometimes the enemy been under siege for months. jihadis started killing people,
junta’s first three months of try to convince the fighters to kills us because we’re regu- Last month local leaders in she said.
rule compared with the three put down their arms and re- larly exhausted,” said a sol- Djibo tried to negotiate an In a makeshift displacement
months prior, according to turn to their homes. dier, who spoke on condition end to the blockade with the camp in the northern town
the Armed Conflict Location Yet violence is intensifying. of anonymity as he wasn’t top jihadi in the country, Jafar of Ouahigouya where she
& Event Data Project. Since April at least 30 securi- authorized to speak to jour- Dicko, according to govern- now lives, she’s hoping Da-
“Beyond the immeasur- ty forces have been killed and nalists. ment officials. miba will restore security so
able suffering, the effects of two foreigners kidnapped: an Jihadis are changing strat- It was the first time the gov- she can go home.
the violence and conflict — American nun and a Polish egy. They are targeting wa- ernment gave logistical sup- “He said things would
which show no signs of abat- citizen. Last week, 11 gen- ter sources, destroying 32 port for local dialogues, change in five months,” the
ing — are likely to lead to re- darmes were killed by jihadis facilities this year which which have been ongoing for outspoken mother of 11 said,
newed popular discontent,” in Seno province in the Sahel, has reduced access to nearly years. While the talks par- pumping her fist for empha-
said Heni Nsaibia, senior re- said the army in a statement. 300,000 people, said a group tially succeeded in allowing sis. “If it’s not better in five
searcher at ACLED. The government is losing of aid organizations operating freer movement in and out months, we, the wom
The latest attack happened in control of swaths of land,

North Korea plans crackdown as Kim pushes for internal unity

acts were mentioned at the ship” and “the broad political quently has said about 4.5
ruling Workers’ Party meet- activities of the party through million people — more than
ing on Sunday. But possible the strong discipline system,” 17% of its 26 million people
state crackdowns on such al- KCNA said. — have fallen ill with fevers
leged acts could be an attempt Kim has previously occa- and only 72 have died. For-
to solidify Kim’s control of sionally called for struggles eign experts widely doubt the
his people and get them to against “anti-socialist prac- outbreak was North Korea’s
rally behind his leadership in tices” at home in the past two first, and they believe the
the face of the domestic hard- years amid outside worries statistics being disclosed in
ships, some observers say. about his country’s fragile state media are manipulated
Kim and other senior party economy that has been bat- to prevent political damage
secretaries discussed “wag- tered by pandemic-related to Kim while bolstering in-
ing a more intensive struggle border shutdowns, U.N. ternal control and promoting
against unsound and non- sanctions and his own mis- his leadership.
revolutionary acts including management. During a Workers’ Party
abuse of power and bureau- The North’s elevated re- conference last week, Kim
cratism revealed among some strictions on movement in claimed the pandemic situ-
By HYUNG-JIN KIM other “unsound and non- party officials,” the official the wake of the COVID-19 ation has passed the stage
Associated Press revolutionary acts,” state Korean Central News Agen- outbreak could cause a fur- of “serious crisis” and or-
SEOUL, South Korea media reported Monday, cy said. ther strain on the country’s dered officials to remedy
(AP) — North Korean as Kim seeks greater in- Kim ordered the authority economic difficulties, some “the shortcomings and evils
leader Kim Jong Un and ternal unity to overcome of the party’s auditing com- experts say. in the anti-epidemic work”
his top deputies have a COVID-19 outbreak and mission and other local disci- North Korea on May 12 ad- and take steps to build up
pushed for a crackdown economic difficulties. pline supervision systems to mitted the omicron variant the country’s anti-pandemic
on officials who abuse be bolstered to promote the of the coronavirus had in- capability.q
their power and commit It wasn’t clear what specific party’s “monolithic leader- fected people, and it subse-