BURKINA FASO
BURKINA FASO – Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, deposed, plays the fair play card
The tension in Burkina Faso has subsided. Businesses and schools have reopened. On October 3, 2022, the Togolese government put an end to rumours. Togolese Communications Minister and Government Spokesman Akodah Ayewouadan said that the lieutenant colonel had found refuge in Togo after the coup on Friday, 30 September. Meanwhile, a recording of the latter circulates on the web in which he announces his resignation as head of state and wishes good luck to the new forces.
In a video, visibly recorded this Sunday, October 2, 2022, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba announces his resignation to avoid an escalation: “[…] considering the best interests of Burkina Faso, I gave up my position as Head of State, as President of the Transition.” For him, a tug of war would be tantamount to “increasing the risk of division within our military”. This is contrary to the commitments his government made to ECOWAS. He did not fail to take stock of this putsch admits the intentions of the “new authorities”: “Before our dead could be buried (…) some units of our military forces, with civilian and political sympathizers, driven by individualistic motives, The European Parliament, in its resolution of 27 November 1989 on the European Union’s role in the fight against racism and xenophobia in the European Union and in the United Nations Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Middle East. The goal was clear: to stop the Transition. Their actions resulted in two deaths, nine injuries and property damage.”
The attack on the Gaskined convoy was only a pretext for the new forces to «interrupt the Transition. (…)» , says Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba. At the end of his recording, he addressed: «To the new authorities of Faso»: «his wishes for success.» and urged them to “work, especially to unite rather than disperse and carry out their responsibilities as a priesthood.” In an interview given to RFI, Captain Traoré announces that he is also in continuity and gives the commitment that there will be no “witch hunts” in the army.
Things, we can say, have settled down. On Tuesday, 4 October, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guinea-Bissau, Suzy Carla Barbosa, will lead a delegation. She will be accompanied by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Aliou Touré of the Gambia, but especially by Mahamadou Issoufou, the former head of state of Niger, as mediator.
The Senegalese Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko made his first official visit to Burkina Faso on Friday, May 16, 2025. During this visit, he reaffirmed to Captain Ibrahim Traoré the willingness of Senegal to provide its support in the face of the terrorist threat in the Sahel.
On an official visit to Ouagadougou, Ousmane Sonko, Prime Minister of Senegal, was received in audience by the President of the Transition of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Accompanied by three members of his government—Yassine Fall, Minister of Foreign Affairs and African Integration; Birame Diop, Minister of the Armed Forces; and Khady Diène Gaye, Minister of Sport — The head of the Senegalese government engaged in more diplomatic exchanges at the summit.
This first visit to Burkina Faso takes place against a background of high security tensions in the region. At the end of his meeting with President Traoré, Ousmane Sonko wished to express “the solidarity of the Senegalese people towards the people of Burkina Faso in the face of this test imposed on them, which they did not choose”. In addition, he provided “absolute support” to the transitional authorities and affirmed Senegal’s readiness to consider “any possibility of collaboration and support” in the face of the terrorist threat. He also stressed the need for a united and structured response, because, he said: “None of our countries can escape this gangrene”.
Ousmane Sonko, in his statements, calls for a collective approach to security in West Africa. He also said: “It is illusory to believe that the security threat will stop at the borders of Burkina Faso, Mali or Niger. It is a struggle of all West Africa”.
Ousmane Sonko not only spoke to Ouagadougou, but also to Bamako and Niamey.
Apart from the diplomatic issues, the visit of the Senegalese Prime Minister also has a historical dimension. Indeed, on Saturday, May 17, 2025, he took part in the inauguration of the Thomas Sankara Mausoleum, an emblematic figure of Pan-Africanism and its 12 companions in Ouagadougou. For the Senegalese Prime Minister, Thomas Sanka who is one of his master thinkers “has been illuminating all the pan-Africanist and sovereignist struggles on the continent for a few decades”. He also planned to meet with the Senegalese community living in Burkina Faso.
BURKINA FASO
BURKINA FASO – Draft revision of the constitution: The ESC and the Ombudsman of Faso removed, French will no longer be the official language
The adoption of a bill revising the Constitution, this is the main information from the Council of Ministers. As implications included in this bill, the Minister of Justice, Rodrigue Bayala, has indicated that French will become a working language and national languages will become official languages.
Institutions such as the Ombudsman of Faso and the Economic and Social Council (ESC) will also be abolished. Their duties and functions will be entrusted to an institution called the “Conseil national des communautés”. According to the minister in charge of justice, this new institution will be composed of religious leaders, customary and grassroots communities.
The transformation of the National Intelligence Agency into the National Security Council, a body that will be constitutionalized and the abolition of the High Court of Justice are also reforms contained in the draft text.
The city of Djibo, located in the Sahel region, was the subject of a terrorist attack in the afternoon of Sunday, November 26, 2023. Numerous assailants arrived by motorcycle and car stormed the camp of the group of anti-terrorist forces and several strategic sites of the city. For more than two hours, they shot at the people, burned and looted everything they could. For the moment, no official communication on the outcome of this attack.
According to the news agency of Burkina it is «nearly 3,000 terrorists» who attacked the city of Djibo. Witnesses on the spot explain that the attackers came in large numbers and attacked the strategic points of the city, including the camp of the military detachment.
“The fighting was particularly violent at the military camp,” Burkina Faso’s news agency said. For several hours, the attackers occupied it just like the rest of the city. A security source reveals that “soldiers fell, all collective weapons, all ammunition and armoured vehicles carried away.”
A counter-offensive was carried out and «more than 400 terrorists» killed, says the Burkina news agency. A figure that cannot be independently verified. In addition, the agency does not mention possible losses and material damage, on the side of the Burkinabe forces.
For more than two years, the city of Djibo has been under the blockade of armed terrorist groups. The inhabitants are supplied by a WFP airlift or by the rare convoys escorted by the army of Burkina Faso. These convoys are regularly attacked by armed terrorist groups.
