Thirteen individuals have been sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism-related offenses, including the coordinated attacks in March 2018 targeting the army headquarters and the French embassy in Ouagadougou, according to a statement from the specialized judicial unit consulted on Tuesday.
In total, 78 people were tried during several court sessions held between January and July 2025. Sixty-three of them received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 21 years, while two others were given lighter sentences of one and three years.
On March 2, 2018, a double attack targeted both the Burkinabè army general headquarters and the French embassy in the capital. Eight soldiers were killed and 85 others injured in the assault on the military command, while four jihadists were shot dead before they could breach the diplomatic compound.
According to Prosecutor Lafama Prosper Thiombiano, six defendants were found guilty for their direct involvement in these attacks. Three were sentenced to life, while the other three received 21-year prison terms. They were prosecuted for “acts of terrorism,” “complicity in murder,” and “complicity in attempted murder.”
Although the capital has not experienced similar attacks since then, the country remains plagued by ongoing insecurity. Since 2015, jihadist violence has claimed the lives of more than 26,000 people, according to the conflict-monitoring organization ACLED. Over half of those deaths have occurred in the past three years, despite assurances from the military junta, in power since September 2022 under Captain Ibrahim Traoré, that restoring national security is a top priority.