Attack on Mansila army base in Burkina Faso fuels mutiny rumours

An attack on an army base in Burkina Faso that reportedly killed more than 100 soldiers has sparked speculation about unrest among security forces in a country where the military has been in power since 2022.

The junta has not commented on the attack but denied that it was a mutiny.

Burkina Faso has been fighting Islamist insurgents for years and about half of the country is outside government control.

The jihadist group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) said it was behind last Tuesday’s attack in the northern city of Mansila.

The following day, an explosion occurred near the headquarters of state television.

According to several reports, armed men attacked the military base near the border with Niger on June 11.

According to reports, around 100 soldiers were killed and many more are missing. Several hundred civilians fled Mansila to neighboring towns to seek shelter.

Five days after the attack, JNIM, an al-Qaeda affiliate, said it was behind the attack and that dozens of soldiers had been killed.

The group released a video showing a large amount of weapons and ammunition that they said were seized in the attack.

There are also videos of JNIM fighters on motorcycles firing incessantly in a remote mud-house village.

The BBC could not verify the video.

The armed forces have now sealed off Mansila and it is not possible to enter the city without a military convoy.

One day after the attack in Mansila, a rocket hit the parking lot of the state television station Radiotélévision Burkinabé (RTB) in the capital Ouagadougou.

On its Facebook page, RTB described the incident as a “shooting” that resulted in “two minor injuries that were quickly treated by the Presidential Health Service.”

Even before the attacks on Mansila and RTB, there was speculation about internal tensions within the military.

Like the public, soldiers had expressed their frustration at the government’s inability to bring the security crisis under control following a series of high-profile attacks.

Like its counterparts in Mali and Niger, the junta in Burkina Faso came to power with a promise to end the jihadist insurgency.

But insecurity in Burkina Faso has increased dramatically since the army seized power in 2022 and withdrew French troops, arguing they had not done enough to fight jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The junta has since deepened its military ties with Russia.

Military sources told French broadcaster RFI that the attack on state television on June 12 was related to the army’s “internal situation” and that “not everything is going well.”

Jeune Afrique, another French media outlet, reported that the rocket was fired by unknown assailants from the nearby presidential palace while military leader Capt. Ibrahim Traoré was presiding over a cabinet meeting. As a result, Capt. Traoré’s security forces had to “exfiltrate” him, according to Jeune Afrique.

Local media in Burkina Faso have downplayed the RTB incident and the Mansila attack, possibly out of fear of harsher action.

The junta has suspended several local and international media outlets, citing allegations of bias in their coverage of military operations, jihadist attacks and alleged human rights abuses by security forces.

Serious military setbacks or security failures are sensitive issues in Burkina Faso.

Captain Traoré’s predecessors, Lieutenant Colonels Paul-Henri Damiba and Roch Marc Kabore, were dismissed in September and January 2022 respectively for failing to effectively combat militant attacks.

Since coming to power, Captain Traoré has repeatedly expressed his determination to eradicate the militants. Under his leadership, the army launched several anti-terrorist operations in the most unstable areas, using modern weapons from Russia, Turkey and China.

However, the security situation continued to deteriorate and the junta leader is now facing the same criticism that he once leveled against his predecessors.

Captain Traoré has largely kept a low profile since the attack on Mansila.

It took three days until his first public appearance. RTB broadcast footage of him donating blood as part of a blood drive.

During the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha on 16 June, a statement by the junta leader was read out on RTB. Even this showed restraint on the part of Captain Traoré, who usually appears live on RTB on such occasions.

Although the authorities did not comment specifically on the attacks, they denied reports of discontent among the military.

“For some time now, rumours have been circulating on social networks about mood swings and mutinies in certain barracks.

“This unsubstantiated and misleading information is the work of malicious individuals and small groups with nefarious intentions,” the military said in a press release issued Tuesday.

“These accusations aim to sow doubt, psychose public opinion and demoralize the troops who are so committed to fighting for the liberation of our people.”

In a rare open criticism, some of the country’s social media users accused Captain Traoré and his government of failing to tackle the security crisis despite acquiring modern military equipment.

“The coward Ibrahim Capt Traoré is hiding,” said Sagnon, whose Facebook page has 11,000 followers, expressing dismay at the scale of the militant attack.

“Mansila, the pain is deep. The least we can do is communicate. We need to know what happened,” said Idrissa Badini, a blogger with 7,100 followers on Facebook.

Another Facebook user, Henry Sebgo, said the lack of response showed the “lack of compassion” of the military rulers.

Others defended the junta and accused “envious forces” of working to destabilise Burkina Faso and the alliance of Sahel states, which also includes Mali and Niger.

Senator Kletus Official, another popular Facebook page, claimed that “enemies of the Sahel Alliance” were behind the rocket attack on RTB.

The two attacks occurred about a week after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Burkina Faso and announced plans to send more military trainers to the country.

Having maintained very close relations with Burkina Faso and other Sahel countries in recent years, Russia is reportedly already taking steps to ensure the stability of Captain Traoré’s government.

According to reports, more Russian mercenaries were recently flown in from Mali to “protect” the Burkinabe leader after the attack.