Editing Burkina Faso (section)

==== Kaboré presidency and Jihadist insurgency (2015–2023) ====
{{main|Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso|Terrorism in Burkina Faso}}

[[2015 Burkinabè general election|General elections]] took place on 29 November 2015. [[Roch Marc Christian Kaboré]] won the election in the first round with 53.5% of the vote, defeating businessman [[Zéphirin Diabré]], who took 29.7%.<ref name="Kabore wins">Mathieu Bonkoungou and Nadoun Coulibaly, [https://news.yahoo.com/kabore-wins-burkina-faso-presidential-vote-electoral-commission-003634457.html "Kabore wins Burkina Faso presidential election"], Reuters, 1 December 2015.</ref> Kaboré was sworn in as president on 29 December 2015.<ref name="swears in new president">{{Cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/burkina-faso-swears-president-capping-transition-161614791.html |title=Burkina Faso swears in new president, capping transition |work=Agence France-Presse |date=29 December 2015}}</ref> Kaboré was re-elected in the [[2020 Burkinabè general election|general election of 22 November 2020]], but his party Mouvement du Peuple pour le Progrès (MPP), failed to reach absolute parliamentary majority. It secured 56 seats out of a total of 127. The Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), the party of former President Blaise Compaoré, was distant second with 20 seats.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.africanews.com/2020/11/30/burkina-faso-elections-kabore-s-party-fails-to-win-majority-parliamentary-seats/ |title=Burkina Faso elections: Kabore's party fails to clinch majority parliamentary seats |date=30 November 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Smoke rises from Embassy of France in Burkina Faso, March 2, 2018.jpg|thumb|Smoke rising from French Embassy in Ouagadougou, 2 March 2018, during the [[2018 Ouagadougou attacks]]]]

A [[Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso|Jihadist insurgency]] began in August 2015, part of the [[Islamist insurgency in the Sahel]]. Between August 2015 and October 2016, seven different posts were attacked across the country.<ref name="Croix191016">Ludivine Laniepce, [http://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Afrique/Au-Burkina-Faso-frontieres-peur-2016-10-19-1200797429 Au Burkina Faso, les frontières de la peur], ''La Croix'', 19 octobre 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=27 October 2016 |title=Le Burkina Faso va renforcer la sécurité de ses postes de police frontaliers |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20161027-le-burkina-faso-va-renforcer-securite-postes-police-frontaliers |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=RFI |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211029/https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20161027-le-burkina-faso-va-renforcer-securite-postes-police-frontaliers |url-status=live}}</ref> On 15 January 2016, terrorists [[2016 Ouagadougou attacks|attacked the capital city]] of [[Ouagadougou]], killing 30 people. [[Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb]] and [[Al-Mourabitoun (militant group)|Al-Mourabitoune]], which until then had mostly operated in neighbouring [[Mali]], claimed responsibility for the attack.<ref>{{cite web |title=Burkina : le bilan de l'attentat s'élève à 30 morts après le décès de la photographe Leïla Alaoui – Jeune Afrique |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/294932/politique/burkina-bilan-de-lattentat-seleve-a-30-morts-apres-deces-de-photographe-leila-alaoui/ |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=jeuneafrique.com|date=19 January 2016 |language=fr-FR |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211009/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/294932/politique/burkina-bilan-de-lattentat-seleve-a-30-morts-apres-deces-de-photographe-leila-alaoui/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fig160116">{{cite web |date=15 January 2016 |title=Une vingtaine de morts après l'attaque djihadiste de Ouagadougou |url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2016/01/15/01003-20160115ARTFIG00370-burkina-faso-tirs-et-detonations-dans-le-centre-de-ouagadougou.php |access-date=16 January 2016 |website=[[Le Figaro]] |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211042/https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2016/01/15/01003-20160115ARTFIG00370-burkina-faso-tirs-et-detonations-dans-le-centre-de-ouagadougou.php |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, attacks increased after a new group [[Ansar ul Islam (Western Africa)|Ansarul Islam]], led by imam [[Ibrahim Malam Dicko]], was founded.<ref name="RFI100217">[http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20170210-groupe-jihadiste-Ansaroul-Islam-Ibrahim-Malam-Dicko-burkina-faso?ref=tw_i Un groupe jihadiste tente de s'implanter au Burkina Faso] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329041626/http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20170210-groupe-jihadiste-Ansaroul-Islam-Ibrahim-Malam-Dicko-burkina-faso?ref=tw_i |date=29 March 2019}}, ''RFI'', 10 février 2017.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=11 April 2017 |title=Comment est né Ansaroul Islam, premier groupe djihadiste de l'Histoire du Burkina Faso |language=fr |work=Le Monde.fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2017/04/11/comment-est-ne-ansaroul-islam-premier-groupe-djihadiste-de-l-histoire-du-burkina-faso_5109520_3212.html |access-date=21 December 2021 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211011/https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2017/04/11/comment-est-ne-ansaroul-islam-premier-groupe-djihadiste-de-l-histoire-du-burkina-faso_5109520_3212.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Its attacks focused particularly on [[Soum Province|Soum province]]<ref name="RFI100217" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Qui est l'imam Ibrahim Dicko, la nouvelle terreur du nord du Burkina ? – Jeune Afrique |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/390558/politique/limam-ibrahim-dicko-nouvelle-terreur-nord-burkina/ |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=jeuneafrique.com |date=9 January 2017 |language=fr-FR |archive-date=21 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211016/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/390558/politique/limam-ibrahim-dicko-nouvelle-terreur-nord-burkina/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and it killed dozens of people in the [[Nassoumbou attack|attack on Nassoumbou]] on 16 December.<ref name="JA090117">Benjamin Roger, [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/390558/politique/limam-ibrahim-dicko-nouvelle-terreur-nord-burkina/ Qui est l'imam Ibrahim Dicko, la nouvelle terreur du nord du Burkina ?], ''Jeune Afrique'', 9 janvier 2016.</ref>

Between 27 March – 10 April 2017, the governments of [[Mali]], France, and Burkina Faso launched a joint operation named "Operation Panga", which involved 1,300 soldiers from the three countries, in the Fhero Forest, near the [[Burkina Faso-Mali border]], considered a sanctuary for Ansarul Islam.<ref>{{cite web|title=Barkhane : opération transfrontalière Panga dans la boucle du Niger élargie |url=https://www.defense.gouv.fr/operations/afrique/bande-sahelo-saharienne/operation-barkhane/breves/barkhane-operation-transfrontaliere-panga-dans-la-boucle-du-niger-elargie |url-status=live |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=defense.gouv.fr |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211011/https://www.defense.gouv.fr/operations/afrique/bande-sahelo-saharienne/operation-barkhane/breves/barkhane-operation-transfrontaliere-panga-dans-la-boucle-du-niger-elargie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=6 April 2017 |title=Mali: opération anti-terroriste d'envergure à la frontière avec le Burkina Faso |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20170406-mali-operation-anti-terroriste-envergure-frontiere-le-burkina-faso |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=rfi.fr |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211034/https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20170406-mali-operation-anti-terroriste-envergure-frontiere-le-burkina-faso |url-status=live}}</ref> The head of Ansarul Islam, Ibrahim Malam Dicko, was killed in June 2017 and [[Jafar Dicko]] became leader.<ref>{{cite web |date=26 July 2017 |title=Meurtres dans le nord du Burkina: Ansarul Islam victime d'une guerre intestine? |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20170726-burkina-faso-assassinats-autorites-suspectent-reglements-ansarul-islam |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=rfi.fr |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211027/https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20170726-burkina-faso-assassinats-autorites-suspectent-reglements-ansarul-islam |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 2 March 2018, [[Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin]] [[2018 Ouagadougou attacks|attacked the French embassy]] in [[Ouagadougou]] as well as the general staff of the Burkinabè army. Eight soldiers and eight attackers were killed, and a further 61 soldiers and 24 civilians were injured.<ref name="Monde070318">[https://lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/03/07/attaques-de-ouagadougou-un-nouveau-bilan-fait-etat-de-huit-militaires-burkinabes-tues_5267019_3212.html Attaques de Ouagadougou : un nouveau bilan fait état de huit militaires burkinabés tués] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211010/https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/03/07/attaques-de-ouagadougou-un-nouveau-bilan-fait-etat-de-huit-militaires-burkinabes-tues_5267019_3212.html |date=21 December 2021}}, ''[[Le Monde]]''-AFP, 7 mars 2018.</ref> The insurgency expanded to the east of the country<ref>{{cite web |title=Burkina : les autorités confrontées à un nouveau défi sécuritaire dans l'Est – Jeune Afrique |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/631985/politique/burkina-les-autorites-confrontees-a-un-nouveau-defi-securitaire-dans-lest/ |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=jeuneafrique.com |date=19 September 2018 |language=fr-FR |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211022/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/631985/politique/burkina-les-autorites-confrontees-a-un-nouveau-defi-securitaire-dans-lest/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 October 2018 |title=Le Burkina Faso désormais sur la carte du djihadisme|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/10/18/le-burkina-faso-desormais-sur-la-carte-du-djihadisme_5371448_3212.html |access-date=21 December 2021 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211021/https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/10/18/le-burkina-faso-desormais-sur-la-carte-du-djihadisme_5371448_3212.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Macé |first=Célian |title=Dans l'est du Burkina Faso, un nouveau foyer pour le jihad ? |url=https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2018/12/03/dans-l-est-du-burkina-faso-un-nouveau-foyer-pour-le-jihad_1695777/ |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=libération.fr |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211021/https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2018/12/03/dans-l-est-du-burkina-faso-un-nouveau-foyer-pour-le-jihad_1695777/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and, in early October, the Armed Forces of Burkina Faso launched a major military operation in the country's East, supported by French forces.<ref>{{cite web |date=8 October 2018 |title=Burkina Faso: vaste opération de sécurité dans les forêts de l'Est |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20181008-burkina-faso-operation-nettoyage-forets-est-barkhane |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=rfi.fr |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211025/https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20181008-burkina-faso-operation-nettoyage-forets-est-barkhane |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=10 October 2018 |title=Barkhane en opération au Burkina Faso |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20181010-barkhane-operation-burkina-faso |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=rfi.fr |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211029/https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20181010-barkhane-operation-burkina-faso |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=10 October 2018 |title=La France "disposée" à apporter au Burkina le même soutien militaire qu'au Mali |language=fr |work=Le Monde |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/10/10/la-france-disposee-a-apporter-au-burkina-le-meme-soutien-militaire-qu-au-mali_5367342_3212.html |access-date=21 December 2021 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211012/https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/10/10/la-france-disposee-a-apporter-au-burkina-le-meme-soutien-militaire-qu-au-mali_5367342_3212.html |url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]], between mid-2018 to February 2019, at least 42 people were murdered by jihadists and a minimum of 116 mostly Fulani civilians were killed by military forces without trial.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |date=22 March 2019 |title=Burkina Faso: Atrocities by Armed Islamists, Security Forces |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/22/burkina-faso-atrocities-armed-islamists-security-forces |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211008/https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/22/burkina-faso-atrocities-armed-islamists-security-forces |url-status=live}}</ref> The attacks [[2019 attacks in Burkina Faso|increased significantly in 2019]]. According to the [[Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project|ACLED]], armed violence in Burkina Faso jumped by 174% in 2019, with nearly 1,300 civilians dead and 860,000 displaced.<ref>{{cite news |date=2 June 2020 |title=Au moins cinquante morts dans une série d'attaques au Burkina Faso |language=fr |work=Le Monde |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2020/06/02/au-moins-cinquante-morts-dans-une-serie-d-attaques-au-burkina-faso_6041511_3212.html |access-date=21 December 2021 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211007/https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2020/06/02/au-moins-cinquante-morts-dans-une-serie-d-attaques-au-burkina-faso_6041511_3212.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Jihadist groups also began to specifically target [[Christianity in Burkina Faso|Christians]].<ref>{{cite web |date=29 April 2019 |title=Six morts dans l'attaque d'un temple protestant au Burkina Faso |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20190429-burkina-faso-soum-temple-protestant-silgadji-pasteur |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=rfi.fr |language=fr |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211018/https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20190429-burkina-faso-soum-temple-protestant-silgadji-pasteur |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |date=6 January 2020 |title=Burkina Faso: Armed Islamist Atrocities Surge |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/06/burkina-faso-armed-islamist-atrocities-surge |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211008/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/06/burkina-faso-armed-islamist-atrocities-surge |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=12 May 2019 |title=Six personnes tuées dans une église dans le nord du Burkina Faso |language=fr |work=Le Monde.fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2019/05/12/six-personnes-tuees-dans-une-eglise-dans-le-nord-du-burkina-faso_5461148_3212.html |access-date=21 December 2021 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221211027/https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2019/05/12/six-personnes-tuees-dans-une-eglise-dans-le-nord-du-burkina-faso_5461148_3212.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2022-11-10 |title=Terrorism gains ground in Burkina Faso |url=https://acninternational.org/terrorism-gains-ground-in-burkina-faso/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=acninternational.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Des déplacés peuls sur le site de Barsalogho au petit matin, au Burkina Faso, le 15 janvier 2019.png|thumb|Displaced Fulani civilians in the aftermath of the [[Yirgou massacre]]]]
On 8 July 2020, the United States raised concerns after a [[Human Rights Watch]] report revealed mass graves with at least 180 bodies, which were found in northern Burkina Faso where soldiers were fighting jihadists.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bf.usembassy.gov/u-s-embassy-ouagadougou-statement-on-human-rights-watch-report-july-8-burkina-faso-allegations-of-extrajudicial-killings/ |title=U.S. Embassy Ouagadougou Statement on Human Rights Watch Report (July 8): Burkina Faso Allegations of Extrajudicial Killings |access-date=8 July 2020 |website=U.S. Embassy in Burkina Faso |date=8 July 2020}}</ref> On 4 June 2021, the Associated Press reported that according to the government of Burkina Faso, gunmen killed at least 100 people in Solhan village in northern Burkina Faso near the Niger border. A local market and several homes were also burned down. A government spokesman blamed jihadists. Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the [[Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project]] said it was the deadliest attack recorded in Burkina Faso since the beginning of the jihadist insurgency.<ref>Portland Press Herald, 5 June 2021</ref>

From 4–5 June 2021, unknown militants [[Solhan and Tadaryat massacres|massacred over 170 people in the villages of Solhan and Tadaryat]]. Jihadists killed 80 people in [[Gorgadji Department|Gorgadji]] on 20 August.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ouagadougou |first=The Guardian |date=19 August 2021 |title=Jihadist attack in Burkina Faso kills 80 people |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/19/killed-burkina-faso-jihadist-attack |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=theguardian.com |language=en |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221213423/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/19/killed-burkina-faso-jihadist-attack |url-status=live}}</ref> On 14 November, the [[Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin]] attacked a gendarmerie in [[Inata, Burkina Faso|Inata]], killing 53 soldiers, the heaviest loss of life by the Burkinabe military during the insurgency, and a major [[morale]] loss in the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/01/28/burkina-fasos-coup-makers-capitalized-wider-grievances-within-ranks/ |title=Burkina Faso's coup makers capitalized on wider grievances within the ranks |date=2022-01-28 |author1=Maggie Dwyer |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}</ref> In December Islamists killed 41 people in an ambush, including the popular vigilante leader Ladji Yoro. Yoro was a central figure in the [[Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland]] (VDP) a pro-government militia that had taken a leading role in the struggle against Islamists.<ref>{{cite web |title=Burkina Faso mourns 41 killed in "insurgent" attack |url=https://www.dw.com/en/burkina-faso-mourns-41-killed-in-insurgent-attack/a-60261256 |access-date=2 February 2022 |website=dw.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2023, shortly after the murder of a Catholic priest at the hands of insurgents, the bishop of Dori, Laurent Dabiré, claimed in an interview with Catholic charity [[Aid to the Church in Need]] that around 50% of the country was in the hands of Islamists.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-10 |title=Terrorism increases in Burkina Faso |url=https://acninternational.org/terrorism-increases-in-burkina-faso/ |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=acninternational.org |language=en-US}}</ref>