At least 34 people were murdered in suspected terrorist assaults on communities in northern Burkina Faso over the weekend. The assaults, which took place in the country's north, have been blamed on Islamists. Hundreds of people flocked to the streets over the weekend to condemn the wave of assaults that has swept the nation.

At approximately 5:00 p.m., armed guys were roaming throughout the town, shooting in the air. They returned at night and opened fire on civilians. Three of the killed were members of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland, a citizen militia formed in December 2019 to assist the army.

In fact, Burkina Faso, one of the world's poorest nations, has been dealing with a terrorist insurgency that began in neighbouring Mali in 2015. The battle, spearheaded mostly by Al-Qaeda and Islamic State-affiliated militants, has taken thousands of lives and caused 1.9 million people to evacuate their homes.

There is over 40% of the nation is not under the jurisdiction of the government. In January, dissatisfied colonels deposed elected president Roch Marc-Christian Kabore in Burkina Faso. Even Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the new strongman, made security his primary concern. But after a brief respite, he resumed assaults, killing hundreds.

Actually, it's vital even as we speak. And if we go back a few days, we can see on a map where the most recent assaults took place, knowing that they were carried out by the Islamic State or Al Qaeda affiliates.

So, a few days ago, we witnessed the assault in Yakouta. It was a pumping station for water. The gold mine of Bourzanga was also assaulted. On that day, inhabitants of Seytanga were assaulted, causing a large number of civilians to flee the town. Dori was aware that the police station in the same town had been assaulted, and eleven police officers had been slain.

On the 9th and 6th, another gold mining facility in the town of Boogie was assaulted. A sophisticated assault was launched against the army, which was attempting to capture a logistics convoy from a gold mine near Bonaughu.

And we can see it spreading over the north and northeastern parts of Burkina Faso. For example, we know that there are no civilian militias fighting jihadis in the Satanica assault, which was carried out by an Islamic state.

However, I learned through research that the local community was on excellent terms with the government. So we can assume that the assault on the 3rd was an attempt to seize this connection and force the populace to flee.

And what distinguishes this is their lack of discipline. As a result, we don't know whether they report to their mother organisations in Mali or over the border in Nigeria.

For example, a few months ago, there was a slaughter in Solan that Al Qaeda denied, but we know for a fact that it was carried out by a section of Al Qaeda. And I researched it was a sloppy faction.

And this has gotten to the point that even local power brokers or nations attempting to deal with jihadis don't know who to bargain with, since the conversations are taking place at the micro-level of commanders.

We all know that France has been fighting jihadism in the area for a long time. What is France's current involvement?

Actually, France does not have a proclaimed presence in Burkina Faso, despite the fact that Wagadu is used by US special forces and French transit troops, and that the Burkinabe government and military approach France for assistance on occasion.

The most recent incident occurred on May 22nd, when 200 Islamic State militants attacked the Buzzinga region, prompting the Burkinabe to request assistance from France. And it was at this point that French jets flew over the 200 jihadis, causing them to run.

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