Combating the financing of terrorism in Burkina Faso

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been facing recurrent terrorist attacks associated with the rise of organised crime and other forms of cross-border crime. Ansarul Islam, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, and the Islamic State in the Great Sahara are the main terrorist groups sowing fear and desolation in the country of the upright. The sources of funding for their dastardly activities are drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping, robbery with violence, fraud, money laundering and counterfeit trafficking, etc. In the face of these growing and increasingly complex security challenges, Burkina Faso has put in place an institutional and legal framework adapted to effectively combat the scourge of terrorism. This framework, which is still under construction, needs to be strengthened. In any event, the fight against the financing of terrorism in Burkina Faso must be part of a holistic, coherent and integrated vision. To achieve this, a national security policy is needed. The fight against terrorism must also be part of the dynamics of international cooperation.