talks have been opened between community leaders and armed groups with the downstream of the junta in power to encourage the return of fighters to their village.
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On April 20, in the early morning, a military helicopter took off from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, in the direction of Djibo, a city besieged by the jihadist groups, in the extreme North of the country. On board, the emir of Djibo, accompanied by several local advisers and notables. The final destination is kept secret, for security reasons. The delegation has just met with the authorities and must meet “senior officials” of the jihadist group Ansaroul Islam, in the bush, several kilometers from Djibo. “It was the group that asked to speak to them, he preferred to address these leaders, rather than local authorities,” reports an informed source.
Discussions last for almost eight hours. It is a question of finding an outcome of the blockade of Djibo, imposed since February 17 by the jihadists who prevent the passage of the trucks of goods and trapped the inhabitants. “They said that they would release access, that they would emine the road and let the populations go back to their village,” reports this same source, who had access to the report of the exchanges.
In Burkina Faso, the junta in power since the end of January coup has given his approval to the opening of talks between community leaders and armed groups. The 1 er April, after having addressed, for the first time, to his “brothers who were lost”, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the new Head of the , announced the creation of “local dialogue committees for the restoration of peace”.
According to the Minister of National Reconciliation, Yéro Boly, who will pilot the initiative, the committees will be supervised by “locality leaders, religious and customary leaders and notables”. A national coordinator and several members from various ministries, such as security, defense, humanitarian action and human rights, must be appointed by decree. 2> “on a case”
This change of strategy arouses both hope and concern in Burkina Faso, where jihadist violence has made more than 2,000 people in seven years and forced at least 1.8 million people to flee their home. By choosing the path of dialogue, as in Mali and Niger Voisins, the junta stands out from the fallen regime of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who had always officially opposed negotiations with terrorist groups, even if, according to several security sources And politicians, a secret truce had been mined for the holding of the 2020 elections.
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