Table of Contents
The News
The News
- Between 2020 and 2022, there already have been 6 successful military coups and 3 failed ones in Africa.
- Recently, Burkina Faso became the fourth country to be suspended by the African Union for the breakdown of democracy by such coups after Sudan, Mali & Guinea.
Dangerohttps://www.mediafire.com/file/l4tgfx516swmhzr/coup1.pngus Trend
Dangerous Trend
Dangerous Trend
The News
The News
But why these Coups?
- The sahel region is infested with jihadist activity by various militant groups like Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, MOJWA, Boko Haram etc.
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Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) is highly prevalent in western Africa. It intensified its activity after it broke with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in mid-2011 with the alleged goal of spreading jihad further into areas of West Africa.
But why these Coups?
What happened in Burkina Faso?
- In Burkina Faso, the military takeover in January 2022 took place after months of unrest due to anti-Government protests demanding the resignation of President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
- The unrest in Burkina Faso has been attributed as a fallout of the violent conflict organised by jihadist groups in Mali that began in 2012, that has since engulfed the entire Central Sahel region.
- President Kabore’s regime used the military to quell the jihadist groups in the country, but with several instances of militant abuse and violent massacres happening, the jihadist threats only grew with some civilian support leading to the eventual takeover.
What’s the response?
- Clearly the African Union has been alarmed by the increasing frequency of military coups in the continent.
- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced severe sanctions on Mali on 9 January, 2022. They suspended Burkina Faso after the coup.
- African Union has raised concerns about the rising number of suspensions of countries that have experienced coups.
Is Suspension or Sanction a solution?
- Security experts believe that the three new military regimes in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, might now seek to coordinate ties among themselves to resist pressure from the ECOWAS and other international actors who are pressurizing the juntas to return to democratic institutions and constitutional order.