Burkina Faso: Trucks seized amid livestock export ban

As Burkina Faso’s security situation continues to deteriorate, a livestock export ban has led to the seizure of trucks transporting livestock, according to RFI and agencies on May 15th.

Fraud control and suppression brigade agents have seized 10 trucks transporting livestock “en route to neighbouring countries”, particularly the Ivory Coast.

The Burkinabe junta announced the export ban on May 8th; the measure is designed to prevent shortages and ensure a supply to the local market.

Supply routes to neighbouring countries are difficult because livestock is driven along tracks to avoid armed groups operating in the border regions.

Farmers and traders have expressed concern that the ban will negatively affect their businesses, as they reportedly make better profits abroad.

According to one business owner, “Buyers aren’t exactly flocking to our domestic markets.”

Concerns are exacerbated by livestock farmers and exporters taking out large loans and relying on sales outside of Burkina Faso to repay their debts.

The junta is not the only cause of concern for livestock businesses; Islamist groups, including the al-Qaeda affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), have also disrupted supplies.

In January, JNIM sought to impose a blockade around a livestock market in the eastern Fada N’Gourma region, located near the Niger border.

Islamist groups like JNIM use blockades, unlawful taxation and kidnappings to fund their operations through so-called “economic jihad.”

JNIM primarily operates in Mali, where they are behind an ongoing fuel blockade; however, the group maintains a presence in Burkina Faso and Niger.

Under the guise of countering Islamist terrorism, the Burkinabe junta has become increasingly authoritarian in its crackdown on perceived dissent.

Since seizing power following a September 2022 coup, the junta dissolved political parties and the electoral commission, while urging its citizens to reject democracy.

The junta claims that democracy is harmful to African nations because it fails to protect civilians from violence.

Furthermore, over 100 civil society organisations have been dissolved, with the junta citing a lack of administrative and financial transparency as justification.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has implicated the Burkinabe military and pro-government militias in mass killings of civilians with suspected Islamist ties.

HRW figures also indicate that the military and pro-government forces have killed more than twice the number of civilians as Islamist groups since 2023; the junta has rejected these allegations.

Maghrebi contacted the Burkinabe President’s Office for comment regarding reports of truck seizures, but has not received a response at the time of publication.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org