Burkina Faso and Somalia discuss cooperation in the field of security and counter-terrorism

Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:

The President of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, received on Wednesday the Minister of Internal Security of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Lieutenant General Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail.

Lieutenant General Abdullah Sheikh Ismail indicated that he was carrying a message from the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to his counterpart burkiniPresident Captain Ibrahim Traoré, President of Burkina Faso.

Somalia strengthens international partnerships to combat terrorism

The Somali Minister of Internal Security, accompanied by his Burkinabe counterpart, explained that his visit to Burkina Faso reflects his country's desire to strengthen international partnerships, particularly cooperation in the field of security and counter-terrorism.

He stressed that Burkina Faso and the Federal Republic of Somalia face the same challenge, which is the phenomenon of terrorism, and this requires paying special attention to counter-terrorism efforts, training, intelligence sharing, and strengthening cooperation between security agencies.

General Ibrahim Traoré, the army chief and president of Burkina Faso, is leading plans to develop infrastructure and green infrastructure in Burkina Faso, with the aim of improving living conditions in the country and combating climate change.

Read more: Traoré is leading ambitious infrastructure development plans in Burkina Faso.

Furthermore, the latest edition of the Global Terrorism Index revealed that Burkina Faso remains the country most affected by terrorism for the second year in a row.

The Institute for Economics and Peace in Australia compiles its annual ranking based on the number of incidents, deaths, injuries, and hostages resulting from terrorism. Six of the ten countries most affected by terrorism are in Africa.

In addition to Burkina Faso, other African countries in the top 10 include its Sahel neighbors, Mali (fourth) and Niger (fifth), followed by Nigeria (sixth), Somalia (seventh) and Cameroon (tenth).

The index's analysts say: "The Sahel region remains a hotbed of terrorism, accounting for more than half of the world's terrorism deaths."”

The latest report revealed that terrorist attacks, although fewer in number, have become more deadly.

Terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso have decreased.

In Burkina Faso, for example, the number of attacks decreased by 17% between 2023 and 2024; but the number of deaths increased by 68%.

In one incident, 200 people were killed in a single village in Burkina Faso when they were attacked by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin in August 2024. Analysts stated that the violence perpetrated by the group in Burkina Faso in 2024 was 50% higher than in 2023.