The Burkinabe authorities are careful to keep the existence of this base secret. And for good reason: it hosts nearly a dozen drones, one of the most valuable weapons of the junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Located by The World, who does not wish to reveal its exact location, it is located in the southern outskirts of Ouagadougou. Built out of sight from 2021, it became fully operational at the end of 2022, after the man his compatriots nicknamed “IB” took power.
A Bayraktar TB2 drone on a Burkinabe army base, south of Ouagadougou, November 4, 2023.
From its tarmac take off armed drones from the Turkish manufacturer Baykar (at least six Bayraktar TB2s and two Bayraktar Akinci, the superior model) and surveillance drones from the National Intelligence Agency (ANR). Their mission: to track down and strike the jihadist groups who control large swaths of Burkinabe territory. Driven by the regime of former President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (overthrown by the 2022 putsch), this use of armed drones was intensified by Captain Traoré.
As in other areas, the young officer in the red beret followed the example of his Malian elder, General Assimi Goïta. Since his coup d'état in Bamako in August 2020, his junta has made drones one of its preferred vectors to strike its enemies, whether they are jihadists or independence fighters. In November 2023, these aircraft played a decisive role in the capture of Kidal from the predominantly Tuareg rebels of the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), a highly symbolic victory for the regime of General Goïta. “Drones offer significant operational gains. They allowed our army to take a leap. It’s even thanks to them that we are still holding on”recognizes a Malian officer.
“It fuels the propaganda”
A military asset, drones have also become a political tool. They serve the sovereignist discourse of the Sahelian juntas and embody the “ rise in power » of their armies. On Malian and Burkinabe national television news, it is not uncommon to see images of strikes by these devices in operation, accompanied by triumphalist comments.
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An airstrike carried out by the Malian army and broadcast on national television on September 14, 2024, geolocated by “Le Monde” in Zarho, in central Mali.
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“This fuels the authorities' propaganda about our supposed superpower with latest technology weapons. But the reality is quite different. They do not control the security situation, as shown the double attack [qui a fait au moins 80 morts] in the heart of Bamako on September 17 »tackles a Malian opponent under cover of anonymity. Neighboring Niger, the latest to join the club of Sahelian putschists, in July 2023, also widely uses these armed unmanned aircraft.
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