Burkina Faso

Islamic extremists kill, torture, and sexually assault innocent civilians in Burkina Faso. The military juntas were unable to contain the violence, especially with the absence of seasoned French troops who fought the terrorists until they left. The military junta overthrew the elected government in Burkina Faso. Under Russia’s influence, the French counterterrorism troops left the country. The plan to get Wagner mercenaries to combat Islamic extremists has not gone to plan so far. Although the mercenaries were successful in Syria against the Islamic State, Africa is a different bet altogether. The core group of mercenaries are convicted criminals who opted to fight for Wagner instead of staying in jail. They are not trained in counterterrorism or expected to be compassionate to the local population. The greed of the military leadership heading the junta in Burkina Faso extends extreme grief on its citizenry. 

Heavenly Father, we stand against unholy alliances that have formed between military juntas, oppressive regimes, mercenaries, and Islamic extremists in Burkina Faso with evil intentions in their hearts against innocent people (The Bible, Joshua 9:1-2).

Burkina Faso moves to 23rd position in the World Watch report 2023 by Open Doors for Christian persecution. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is the interim president. sworn in on 16 February. On March 1, 2022. Burkina Faso is Africa’s fourth largest gold producer. It has so much potential, but the country also has the world’s fourth-lowest rating on the UN’s human development index. The country continues to struggle economically as well as with corruption. Disease, malnutrition, and low education levels are major issues. Freedom does exist in religion. In the Sahel region, Islamist extremist groups have a huge and growing influence. Jihadist violence has been rapidly increasing in recent years and militants have taken control of large parts of the eastern region. This has led to numerous attacks on Churches and hundreds of Church closures.