The Ouagadougou coup How did France receive another painful blow in Burkina Faso?

The Burkinabe army announced on Monday its seizure of power, after detaining President Kabore, dissolving the government and suspending the constitution. In what is another painful blow that France received in the region, after the Mali coup last May, in addition to the popular rejection of it in those countries.

On Monday, Burkinabe soldiers announced that they had ousted President Roch Marc Kabore and seized power in the West African country. In a coup led by Colonel Paul Henri Sandaugo Damiba, in the name of a movement that called itself: "The National Movement for Protection and Restoration".

In a statement read out on Burkinabe's state television, Dambia declared: "Parliament and the government have been dissolved," promising a return to constitutional order within a reasonable period of time. While the fate of President Kabore remained unknown, after security sources confirmed that he had fallen into the hands of the putschists.

The coup was met with numerous international condemnations, most notably from France, for which this novelty represents a painful blow, in addition to its great retreat on the front in Mali, and its dispute with the Bamako government coming to power in the same way. These coups in Africa have become a Russian investment par excellence, as Moscow's influence extends at the expense of France and the international powers there.

International condemnation and French protest

Immediately after the army seized power in Burkina Faso, international condemnation of the military coup dwindled. The most prominent of them was from Washington, where its foreign ministry urged all parties in this turbulent situation to maintain calm and to beg for dialogue as a way to meet their demands.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement saying: "We strongly condemn any attempt to seize power by force of arms." Expressing his concern for the safety of ousted President Rosh Kabore, who is in the grip of the coup forces.

The actual Al-Maktoui came out with the fire of what apparently happened, French President Emmanuel Macron, too, with a condemnation tainted with a protest that exposes the impasse in which the historical French influence has fallen in the Sahel and Sahara region. He said: "Clearly, as usual, we agree with the Economic Community of West African States in condemning this military coup."

He considered this development "the latest in a series of military coups that are very worrying at a time when the priority in the region should be to fight terrorism." He stressed that "Paris is closely following the developments of the situation on the ground, in the country, which represents a sensitive point in France's strategy for its war in the Sahel."

French strategic loss

On the political level, the Burkina Faso coup represents a severe problem for Paris, which finds itself in front of four coup regimes, out of the Group of Five in the Sahel allied with them in its war against terrorism, led by military personnel who do not agree with French policies in the region. This may significantly weaken the political cover of Operation Barkhane and similar operations led by the French army there.

On the other hand, the loss of Ouagadougou from the French alliance may herald the end of its historical presence in the Sahel and Sahara, as the country represents a strategic base for the control of Barkhan forces and similar operations over the border triangle between Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, which represents a hotbed for armed groups.

In addition, Burkina Faso houses the Sacred Road, the main supply line for French soldiers in the region, from their rear bases in Ivorian territory. It also hosts the operations room of the Long Sword Forces, which are special forces that carry out qualitative strikes to calculate the strategic objectives of operations to combat armed groups in the region.

There is also another predicament in which France is located, which is to secure the withdrawal of its forces, as most countries in the region are opposed to receiving them. Niger rejects the presence of the French-led Tabuka forces on its soil, and the Malian forces decided, on Tuesday, to expel the Danish forces participating in them, in a severe blow to the European support that France is trying to mobilize to ensure its survival in the region.

France's troubles continue in Burkina Faso

Before the coup, France experienced many troubles in Burkina Faso. Where it faced widespread public criticism, and a rejection embodied in the protests against its existence since last November.

Thousands came out at that time in Burkina Faso to prevent the large French military convoy coming from Ivory Coast, from reaching Niger, passing through the town of Kaya in the north of the country. They chanted slogans: "We want France to leave" and "Kaya says to the French army: Go back to your country." As a result of those skirmishes, dozens of civilians were killed.

These protests also succeeded in pushing the trucks carrying fuel and food supplies for the French army to return to their place. While the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, protested this, saying that "agitators are stirring up anti-French sentiments, and we have made it clear to President Roc Kaboré that we would like him to find a solution to the situation in Gaya and I believe he will find a solution."

On Tuesday, January 18th, four French soldiers were wounded, with an explosive device targeting their vehicle. And the French army announced in a statement: "An explosive device exploded as their vehicle passed after it left Wahigoya airport," adding that the unit was part of the Barkhane force run by France in the Sahel region against the jihadists.

Russian investment in the coup

Soon, after the coup, thousands of Burkinabés came out to celebrate its success, in rallies in which they renewed their condemnation of the French presence there, carrying pictures of Dambia (the new man of the country), accompanied by pictures of the capital of Guetta and Russian flags.

According to the statements of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres: "These demonstrations do not mean the popular consensus on what happened, it is easy to organize them artificially in countries like Burkina Faso." On the other hand, it bears an important sign, which is the prelude to a scenario similar to the financial scenario, that is, the Russians extending their arms over the heart of the country.

This is also confirmed by the interaction of Arabi, the Russian security contractor, Wagner, with the events in Burkina Faso. The Kremlin cook and financier of the Russian mercenary company, Yevgeny Prigogine, considered the coup "a new era of decolonization, because the West is trying to rule countries and suppress their national priorities, to impose foreign values ​​on Africans, sometimes with apparent mockery of them."

Alexander Ivanov, the planner of the Russian presence in Central Africa, praised the coup, noting that France "has not achieved success in fighting terrorism in the region." Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry was satisfied with emphasizing that it is closely following the situation in the African Republic.