The world was concerned during the month of May
2019 when it seemed that a Church was attacked on a weekly basis in the West
African Nation of Burkina Faso. Since January of this year 20 people have been
killed and several Churches have
been destroyed by Islamist Forces that
are operating in the region.
Events in the region remain fluid at best. It
does appear that some of these attacks were inspired by a video recording made by the head of IS
Al-Baghdadi urging attacks against French interests in the Sahel region of
Africa. The incidents in Burkina Faso can be acknowledged as part of an effort
to locate a new base of operations for the group.
After a month of relative quiet in Burkina Faso
the alarm bells for the country have started ringing yet again. On the first of
August 2019 Bishop Laurent Dabire who currently is the President of the Bishops
Conference for Niger and Burkina Faso issued a call for the World to step in and stop
what he called the massacres against Christians in Burkina Faso by Foreign
Backed Islamist Groups. These attacks have been gradually increasing in scope
since the ouster of former President Blaise Comparie in 2014. It should be
noted that in his remarks that the Bishop claimed that the Islamist Militants are
better armed than the Security Forces are.
The Government of Burkina Faso is doing what they
can to protect Christians. On July 12th the Vatican signed an accord with the
Burkinbe Government which guarantees the legal status of the Church in the
country and to collaborate on the moral,
spiritual and material well being of the human person and for the promotion of
the common good. Currently it is estimated that one out of every five persons
of the population of 16.5 million describe themselves as being a member of the
Catholic Church.
Also during a Press Conference that was held on
July 31st remarks were made by the President of Burkina Faso Marc Christian
Kabore that praised the actions of his
immediate neighbors in assisting in the efforts to combat terrorism that
appears to be running rampant in the region. . However in a more somber
statement he did say that Burkina Faso was “paying a heavy tribute” for the
attacks which he stated were impeding “efforts at National Construction.” Just
like in several other nations in the area Burkina Faso does suffer from High
Youth Unemployment lack of Opportunity and other factors that lead to
radicalization.
The situation in Burkina Faso has not been ignored by Washington either. Earlier this
year the African Country was linked to the National Guard of the District of
Columbia under the State Partnership Program to assist in fighting terrorism.
The Country already receives assistance from the United States under the
auspices of the TSCTI (Trans Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative) program.This
move is just another of several steps
that are currently being undertaken by the Trump Administration to address the
acute security crisis in the region.
During the week of August 6th the White House
issued a Press Release stating that the President sent
the name of Sandra E Clark to the United States Senate to be nominated for the
position of Ambassador to Burkina Faso. Filling this position is a positive
signal from the White House showing that it is aware of the situation in the
Sahel and will take the necessary steps to show those on the ground that they
are not ignoring the situation in the region.
Written by: Scott Morgan
Published unedited
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