Militants Are Edging South Toward West Africa’s Most Stable and Prosperous States
Wall Street JournalMar 02, 2022
The Facts
Burkina Faso's military acknowledged on Wed. that counter-terrorist airstrikes carried out earlier this week in the country's southeast resulted in civilian deaths.
The army didn't provide the number of casualties, declaring only that "several dozen terrorists" were neutralized and that the civilian victims were near a terrorist safe house in the Kompienga-Pognoa region.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
For years, Washington has warned that jihadists are targeting West Africa while they continue to destabilize the Sahel. Various coups in recent years have hampered the efforts of Western powers, mostly France and the US, to get the situation under control by militarily supporting local governments. The coup in Burkina Faso is just one of the latest sad examples.
Establishment-critical narrative
The deteriorating security crisis in West Africa is primarily the result of the West's decade-long political and military interference under the guise of fighting terrorism. There is hope for the region only when it's no longer possible for the West to pursue its geopolitical interests unchallenged by pretending to "help."