Editing Thomas Sankara (section)

===Agacher Strip War===
{{main|Agacher Strip War}}
[[File:Moussa Traoré (1989) (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|209x209px|Moussa Traoré]]
Following the 1974 clashes between Burkina Faso and Mali over the disputed territory of the Agacher Strip, the [[Organisation of African Unity]] had created a mediation commission to resolve the disagreement and provide for an independent, neutral demarcation of the border. Both governments had declared that they would not use armed force to end the dispute.{{sfn|Naldi|1986|pp=971–972}}

But by 1983 the two countries disagreed about the work of the commission.{{sfn|Naldi|1986|p=972}} Sankara personally disliked Malian President [[Moussa Traoré]], who had taken power by deposing [[Modibo Keïta]]'s left-leaning regime.<ref name=michaud>{{cite news|author-last=Michaud|author-first=Paul|title=Burkina/Mali: Who started the war|newspaper=New African|pages=29–30|date=1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3xLtAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> On 17 September Sankara visited Mali and met with Traoré. With Algerian mediation, the two agreed to have the border dispute settled by the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) and subsequently petitioned the body to resolve the issue.{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}}

In July 1985 Burkina Faso declared the Malian secretary general of the [[ECOWAS|Economic Community of West Africa]], Drissa Keita, a ''[[persona non grata]]'' after he criticized Sankara's regime. In September Sankara delivered a speech in which he called for a revolution in Mali. Malian leaders were particularly sensitive to the inflammatory rhetoric, as their country was undergoing social unrest.{{sfn|Salliot|2010|p=23}}{{sfn|Englebert|2018|pp=154–155}}{{sfn|Murrey|2018|pp=46–47}} Around the same time, Sankara and other key figures in the CNR became convinced that Traoré was harbouring opposition to the Burkinabé regime in [[Bamako]] and plotting to provoke a border war, which would be used to support a counterrevolution.<ref name=roger>{{cite news|author-last=Roger|author-first=Benjamin|title=Il y a trente ans éclatait la "guerre de Noël" entre le Mali et le Burkina Faso|trans-title=Thirty years ago the "Christmas war" broke out between Mali and Burkina Faso|newspaper=Jeune Afrique|language=fr|date=25 December 2015|url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/288381/politique/il-y-a-quarante-ans-eclatait-la-guerre-de-noel-entre-le-mali-et-le-burkina/|access-date=7 November 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Burkina-Mali boundary dispute, US Department of State map.jpg|thumb|[[United States Department of State]] map showing the competing claims of Mali and Burkina Faso in the Agacher Strip]]
Tensions at the border began to rise on 24 November when one Burkinabé national killed another near the border in [[Soum Province]]. Malian police crossed the boundary to arrest the murderer and also detained several members of a local Committee for the Defence of the Revolution who were preparing a tribunal. Three days later Malian police entered Kounia to 'restore order'. Burkina Faso made diplomatic representations on the incidents to Mali, but was given no formal response.

At the beginning of December, Burkina Faso informed Mali and other surrounding countries that it was conducting its decennial national census from 10 to 20 December.<ref name=AfricaAsia/> On 14 December military personnel entered the Agacher to assist with the census. Mali accused the military authorities of pressuring Malian citizens in border villages to register with the census, a charge which Burkina Faso disputed.<ref name=quarterly>{{cite news|title=Burkina and Mali fight a destructive border war|newspaper=Quarterly Economic Review of Togo, Niger, Benin, Burkina|issue=1|pages=25–26|publisher=Economist Intelligence Unit|date=1985|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c1YWAQAAMAAJ}}</ref> In an attempt to reduce tensions, ANAD (a West African treaty organization) dispatched a delegation to Bamako and Ouagadougou to mediate. President of Algeria [[Chadli Bendjedid]] contacted Sankara and Traoré to encourage a peaceful resolution.<ref name=quarterly/> At the request of ANAD members, Burkina Faso announced the withdrawal of all military personnel from the disputed region.<ref name=institute>{{cite news|title=A war beyond the Burkina-Mali border|newspaper=Africa Special Report|page=39|publisher=Institute of African American Relations|date=1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LCkRAQAAMAAJ}}</ref>

Despite the declared withdrawal, a 'war of the communiques' ensued as Burkinabé and Malian authorities exchanged hostile messages.{{Sfn|Salliot|2010|p=23}} Feeling threatened by Sankara, Traoré began preparing Mali for hostilities with Burkina Faso. Three ''groupements'' were formed and planned to invade Burkina Faso and converge on the city of [[Bobo-Dioulasso]]. Once there, they would rally Burkinabé opposition forces to take Ouagadougou and overthrow Sankara.<ref name=maliactu>{{cite web|url=https://maliactu.net/mali-moussa-traore-une-armee-pour-defendre-chaque-millimetre-carre-du-territoire-national/|author-last=Diarra|author-first=Diaoullèn Karamoko|title=Mali: Moussa Traore: Une armée pour défendre chaque millimètre carré du territoire national|trans-title=Mali: Moussa Traore: An army to defend every square millimeter of the national territory|date=14 August 2017|website=MaliActu|access-date=7 November 2020|language=fr}}</ref>

Former Sankara aide Paul Michaud wrote that Sankara had intended to provoke Mali into conflict with the aim of mobilizing popular support for his regime. According to Michaud, "an official—and reliable—Malian source" had reported that [[mobilization]] documents dating to 19 December were found on the bodies of fallen Burkinabé soldiers during the ensuing war.<ref name=michaud/>

Sankara's efforts to provide evidence of his bona fides were systematically undermined. 'It is hard to believe that the Malian authorities are unaware that the rumors circulating are false,' says U.S. Ambassador [[Leonardo Neher]]. In contrast to Michaud's assertion, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) cable states, 'The war was born of Bamako's hope that the conflict would trigger a coup in Burkina Faso.'<ref name="monde-diplomatique.fr">{{cite news|title=Mais qui a assassiné Thomas Sankara ?|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2021/10/JAFFRE/63630|work=Le Monde diplomatique|date=1 October 2021|language=fr}}</ref>

At dawn on 25 December 1985, about 150 [[Malian Armed Forces]] tanks crossed the frontier and attacked several locations. Malian troops also attempted to envelop Bobo-Dioulasso in a [[Pincer movement|pincer]] attack. The Burkina Faso Army struggled to repel the offensive in the face of superior Malian firepower and were overwhelmed on the northern front;<ref name=roger/> Malian forces quickly secured the towns of Dionouga, Selba, Kouna, and Douna in the Agacher.{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}} The Burkinabé government in Ouagadougou received word of hostilities at about 13:00 and immediately issued mobilization orders. Various security measures were also imposed across the country, including nighttime [[Blackout (wartime)|blackouts]].

Burkinabé forces regrouped in the Dionouga area to [[Counterattack|counter-attack]].<ref name=AfricaAsia/> Captain Compaoré took command of this western front. Under his leadership soldiers split into small groups and employed [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla tactics]] against Malian tanks.<ref name=roger/><ref name=AfricaAsia>{{cite news|title=Burkina and Mali – War to What End?|newspaper=AfricaAsia|volume=2|pages=46–48|publisher=Sociéte d'éditions Afrique, Asie, Amérique latine|date=February 1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmKFAAAAIAAJ}}</ref>

Immediately after hostilities began, other African leaders attempted to institute a truce.{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}} On the morning of 30 December, Burkina Faso and Mali agreed to an ANAD-brokered ceasefire.<ref name=AfricaAsia/> By then Mali had occupied most of the Agacher Strip.{{sfn|Naldi|1986|p=972}} More than 100 Burkinabé and approximately 40 Malian soldiers and civilians were killed during the war.<ref name=roger/> The Burkinabé towns of Ouahigouya, Djibo, and Nassambou were left badly damaged by the fighting.<ref name=quarterly/>

At an ANAD summit in [[Yamoussoukro]]{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}} on 17 January 1987, Traoré and Sankara met{{sfn|Rupley|Bangali|Diamitani|2013|p=lvi}} and formalized an agreement to end hostilities.{{sfn|Imperato|2019|loc=The Border Dispute with Burkina Faso}} The ICJ later split the Agacher; Mali received the more-densely populated western portion and Burkina Faso the eastern section centred on the [[Béli River]].{{sfn|Salliot|2010|p=22}}<ref name=watson>{{cite news|last=Watson|first=Nyle|title=Burkina–Mali: ICJ Boundary Decision Backs Both Sides|newspaper=Geographic Notes|issue=6|pages=18–20|publisher=Office of the Geographer, [[United States Department of State]]|date=15 July 1987|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnA9EFkn8o8C}}</ref> Both countries indicated their satisfaction with the judgement.{{sfn|Salliot|2010|p=22}}

Burkina Faso declared that the war was part of an 'international plot' to bring down Sankara's government. It rejected speculation that it was fought over rumoured mineral wealth in the Agacher.{{sfn|Johnson|1986|p=296}} The country's relatively poor performance in the conflict damaged the domestic credibility of the CNR.{{sfn|Uwechue|1991|p=600}} Some Burkinabé soldiers were angered by Sankara's failure to prosecute the war more aggressively and rally a counteroffensive against Mali.{{sfn|Murrey|2018|p=47}}

The conflict also demonstrated the country's weak international position and forced the CNR to craft a more moderate image of its policies and goals abroad. In the aftermath, the Burkinabé government made little reference to supporting revolution in other countries,{{sfn|Englebert|2018|pp=154–155}} and its relations with France modestly improved.{{sfn|Murrey|2018|p=48}} At a rally held after the war, Sankara conceded that his country's military was not adequately armed and announced the commutation of sentences for numerous political prisoners.{{sfn|Johnson|1986|pp=298–299}}