Four critics of Burkina Faso’s ruling junta, previously forced into military service, have been released after months on the front lines.
Their release, confirmed by a security source to AFP, marks a rare moment of reprieve in a country gripped by repression and war. Among those freed is journalist Kalifara Sere, abducted in June 2024 by masked men in Ouagadougou after questioning junta propaganda.
Sere, once a senior official turned outspoken commentator, had cast doubt on photos of junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré giving blood. Also released was Benoit Bassole, nephew of exiled former foreign minister Djibril Bassole, who was detained last September over alleged links to a coup plot.
German teacher Marcel Imane, kidnapped in March in Dissin after criticising local insecurity, regained his freedom on July 10, according to relatives. Civil society leader James Yazid Dembele was freed Saturday after months of speculation he had died under torture while in custody.
Dembele was taken in January from Bobo Dioulasso, accused of leaking an audio file involving Burkina Faso’s intelligence chief. All were conscripted under a controversial campaign that has seen dissenters kidnapped and deployed to fight Islamist militants.
The junta, which seized power in a 2022 coup, continues to face mounting criticism for silencing opponents through forced enlistment. Despite promises to restore order, Burkina Faso remains mired in violence driven by militants aligned with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Over 26,000 people have died since 2015 in the conflict—more than half of them in the past three years, according to ACLED. Many journalists and activists critical of the regime remain conscripted or missing, as the junta tightens its grip on the embattled Sahel nation.
