Mansila attack in Burkina Faso: what happened and what are the authorities saying

In Burkina Faso, there has so far been no concrete response to the situation in Mansila, since the attack on June 11 against the military detachment positioned there in the northeast of the country. Even less do we know the motive and origin of the shell fire which landed the next day, June 12, in the courtyard of public television, not far from the presidential palace in Ouagadougou, while the government was in the Council of Ministers. Return to a confusing situation.

Since the arrival to power of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, through a military coup on September 30, 2022, the second putsch that the country experienced that year, after that of January, Burkina Faso has resolutely oriented itself towards towards taking charge of its fight against terrorism.

The country has faced armed attacks on civilians since 2015 by groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

To better cope with the degrading security situation, the new military authorities decide to break the military agreements with France, dated 1961, and announce the end of “Sabre” operations in February 2023. They are then moving towards diversification military cooperation in the fight against armed jihadism and call on the Russian mercenary group Wagner, already present in Mali and the Central African Republic.

Under the leadership of Captain Traoré, Burkina Faso has gained momentum in the acquisition of military equipment. From 95.4 billion FCFA in 2016, to 176.94 billion FCFA in 2018, then to 323.644 billion FCFA in 2019, the defense budget increased to 657.7 billion FCFA in 2023.

Despite the new state policy of strengthening military personnel on the ground, with the creation in December 2019 of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) militia to confront jihadist groups in the north of the country. , Burkina Faso faces internal difficulties in the fight against terrorism.

In November 2022, after recruitment launched in October for 50,000 men, the authorities announced the recruitment of 90,000 elements, most of whom will be sent to the front, in support of the Republican army.

Total smoke in Mansila. Everything is confused in this locality in the north-east of the country, near the border with Niger, where armed men attacked the military base there on June 11, which fell. The city is under blockade.

According to several sources, around a hundred soldiers were killed during the attack and several others missing.

Which would have damaged the morale of the troops, according to rumors spread on social networks.

Sources say several hundred civilians fled Mansila to take refuge in neighboring towns like Dori and Kaya, all to the north, in search of safety.

Without a military convoy, it is not possible to arrive in the city where the networks are cut. Moreover, it is practically impossible to communicate with local actors, we are told.

But in the ongoing confusion, born from the Mansila attack and the silence of the authorities on the matter, a shell landed on June 12 in the national television courtyard, causing some injuries and material damage.

The proximity of the place to the Palace of the Republic where the council of ministers chaired by Captain Ibrahim Traoré was held adds to the astonishment.

On June 13, General Célestin Simporé, the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, called for the mobilization of his troops against any attack. This is the general alert. All the soldiers return to their barracks. Helicopters fly over this strategic area of ​​Ouagadougou, the capital, for several hours.

There is confusion in the capital where rumors report an attempted mutiny, following what happened in Mansila.

For two days, the President of the Republic, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, did not appear in public. Which further fuels the rumors on social networks.

On Friday June 14, against all expectations, Captain Traoré appears in a video where he donates blood on the occasion of International Blood Donor Day.

On its Facebook page, Radiotélévision Burkinabé reassures the population and mentions “a shooting incident”, while specifying that there were “two minor injuries quickly taken care of by the health service of the presidency”.

On Sunday June 16, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), affiliated with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in Mansila.

The response from the authorities was not long in coming. In a press release dated Tuesday, June 18, the military authorities reacted to the wild rumors circulating about the situation in the country.

“For some time now, rumors on social networks have been reporting mood swings and mutinies in certain military barracks. This unfounded and misleading information is the work of ill-intentioned individuals and small groups with nefarious designs,” he said. we read from the start of the document signed by the Directorate of Communication and Public Relations of the Armed Forces.

“The Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces reassures the valiant populations that this is not the case,” indicates the text.

“These allegations aim to sow doubt, to create psychosis in public opinion, and to demoralize the troops strongly engaged in the fight for the liberation of our people,” he continues.

According to the document, “the fighting forces remain, for their part, focused on operations to reconquer the territory.”

Consequently, he concludes, “the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces thanks the Burkinabe people for their constant support” and “calls on citizens to go about their business in peace and to always trust the FDS and the VDP , who ensure their safety every day.”

So far, the situation in Mansila still remains uncertain.

As a reminder, Presidents Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba were both carried away by the management of the fight against terrorism in Burkina Faso.