Analysis: How can stability return to Burkina?

How can peace return to Burkina Faso? For a second time in only 9 months, military officials were acclaimed by demonstrators in the streets of Ouagadougou following a takeover.

The Friday coup has raised condemnation on one part and hopes on the other. The spokesman for Guinea's military government offered his perspective on the situation.

"If we want to consider the transition in Burkina and only focus on principles by saying that coups are condemnable and that they must be limited in duration, without providing solutions to the causes of these crises, we take the risk that it occurs again", Ousmane Gaoual Diallo analyzed.

"The Guinean authorities insist that it is important to question the context of each country in order to try to bring appropriate solutions to the problems these nations face. 

The issue of Burkina Faso is not the same as that of Mali, much less of Guinea. Therefore, each country has its own specificities, contexts, and situations that must be taken into account", he added.

Starting in 2015, a jihadist insurgency spread to Burkina from neighboring Mali. Ousted colonel Damiba took the reins of the country, vowing to make security a top priority. 

 He would visit the troops commissioned with reclaiming the 40% of Burkina’s territory out of the government’s control. However, violence continued and brought an end to his tenure.

"I think that the issue of security, territorial integrity, and the fight against terrorism are issues that ultimately structure all the crises that are unfolding in Burkina", the spokesperson said. 

"We must provide answers to this. These answers can be supported, amplified, accompanied by the international community, by ECOWAS, to allow the Burkinabe people to return to a normal context", he concluded.

As Burkinabe waits for a return to normal, 2 million are still internally displaced while others are trapped in localities controlled by terrorists.

The new coup leader Ibrahim Traoré argued soldiers lacked the basic logistics under Damiba. It remains to be seen if he can turn around the crisis.