Burkina Faso after four years of Traoré: mounting debate over the human cost of military rule

On 30 September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in Burkina Faso by toppling Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba. Four years on, the young junta leader claims to have transformed the country: recapturing territory, strengthening the army, asserting national sovereignty and breaking with several Western partners. Yet behind this official narrative, the record remains fiercely contested — especially regarding the safety of civilians, displacement, and public freedoms.

The war against armed groups: an absolute priority

When he came to power, Ibrahim Traoré made the fight against jihadist groups his top priority. His government bolstered the armed forces and expanded the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), civilian auxiliaries called upon to support the military.

The authorities claim to have retaken several areas previously controlled or threatened by armed groups. Traoré also highlights increased military capacity and popular mobilisation as pillars of his security strategy.

But four years after he took office, violence has not disappeared. Armed groups continue to attack security forces and civilians. ACLED notes that jihadist groups retain significant operational capacity in Burkina Faso and that attacks on civilians remain a major feature of the conflict.

The outcome is paradoxical: the state says it has strengthened its territorial control, yet insecurity remains a daily reality in several regions.

More than two million displaced people

One of the heaviest indicators of the conflict remains population displacement. According to UNHCR data, more than two million people were internally displaced within Burkina Faso by the end of 2025, in addition to refugees and asylum seekers. UNHCR’s October–December 2025 tally recorded precisely over 2.06 million internally displaced persons.

These displacements are not solely the result of jihadist attacks. Human Rights Watch also documents violence by government forces and the VDP against civilians accused, among other things, of supporting armed groups. The organisation says it documented attacks that killed at least 1,800 civilians between 2023 and 2025, while stressing that abuses are committed by multiple parties to the conflict.

The plight of the displaced thus encapsulates a major difficulty in the security record: retaking territory does not necessarily mean durably guaranteeing the safety of the people living there.

Journalists under pressure

The other major rupture of Traoré’s four years concerns press freedom. The authorities justify certain measures by the context of war and the need to preserve the morale of troops and the population. However, press freedom organisations describe a considerable shrinking of the media space.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says several journalists have been arrested, abducted or conscripted into the armed forces. In 2025, the organisation recorded several journalists subjected to forced enlistment and eight journalists questioned by security services in October alone.

The case of Atiana Serge Oulon, publication director of the newspaper L’Événement, has become emblematic. Abducted in June 2024, he was presented by the authorities as having been requisitioned to serve in the army. An investigation published in 2026 by RSF claims, however, that he was secretly detained in Ouagadougou and not sent to the front as the official version indicated.

Forced enlistment: a new weapon of repression?

The issue of forced enlistment goes beyond journalists alone. Human Rights Watch reports that dozens of critics of the regime were allegedly requisitioned and sent to combat zones. The organisation believes this practice has affected journalists, civil society activists, opponents and magistrates.

The phenomenon is particularly sensitive because it blurs the line between national mobilisation and political punishment. In a wartime context, the state has mechanisms for national defence mobilisation. But human rights organisations stress that such procedures must respect legal safeguards and allow those concerned to challenge their assignment.

A power that claims sovereignty

Ibrahim Traoré, for his part, defends a vision based on sovereignty and a break from past dependencies. Burkina Faso has distanced itself from France, strengthened ties with Russia and moved closer to Mali and Niger within the Alliance of Sahel States. The government also highlights policies for local processing of resources, particularly in the mining sector.

But this assertion of sovereignty comes with a shrinking political and civic space. According to several organisations, journalists, activists, opponents and human rights defenders have been arrested, detained or forced into exile.

Four years on: a record still open to debate

Four years after the September 2022 coup, Ibrahim Traoré’s record cannot be reduced to a single reading. His government can point to the militarisation of the fight against armed groups, the mobilisation of the VDP, the pursuit of greater strategic autonomy and some economic advances.

But the displacement figures, the persistence of attacks and the accusations of abuses against civilians show that the security crisis remains deep. At the same time, the arrests of journalists, disappearances and forced enlistments documented by international organisations raise the question of the price paid in the name of war.

In Burkina Faso, after four years of military rule, the challenge remains twofold: to reconquer territory, but also to ensure that this reconquest does not come at the expense of people’s rights and protection.

By Daniel Mbami — Journalist