Jihadis expand control to new Burkina Faso fronts

An increase in attacks by extremist groups in Burkina Faso's west has put the military on edge

BANFORA, Burkina Faso -- Florent Coulibaly, a soldier in Burkina Faso’s army, says he hasn't been sleeping well for the past few months as he is often roused at 3 a.m. to fight jihadi rebels. Until recently life was peaceful in western Burkina Faso’s Comoe province, but an increase in attacks by extremist groups in the country’s west has put the military on edge. “It tires us. It gives us a lot of work. It scares us, too,” said Coulibaly, 27. “We don’t know where (the jihadis) are going to come from. They see us, but we don’t see them. They know us, but we don’t know them.” Over the past six months, his battalion has doubled its patrols from once a week to twice, but Coulibaly says the men are ill-equipped, overworked and worry the area could be overrun by jihadis.