Burkina Faso: what does Ibrahim Traoré’s four-year record truly mean for the displaced and the silenced?

On 27 September 2026, Ibrahim Traoré granted an interview to present the balance sheet of his four years in power. The exercise offered, above all, the official reading of his tenure. Military operations, territories declared reconquered, equipment, investments and economic initiatives: the authorities possess ample material to defend their record.

Yet a national assessment cannot be drafted solely by those who govern. It must also be measured against the lived reality of the population.

The question of displacement

The foremost issue remains security: four years after Ibrahim Traoré assumed power, how many Burkinabè can genuinely live in their own homes in safety?

Burkina Faso continues to face a massive displacement crisis. Data from UNHCR recorded 2,062,534 internally displaced persons at the end of 2025 more than two million Burkinabè forced to leave their homes while remaining within the country. When refugees and asylum-seekers are included, the number of forcibly displaced persons exceeded 2.1 million.

This crisis extends well beyond Burkina Faso’s borders.

In neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, UNHCR counted approximately 82,000 Burkinabè refugees in June 2026, out of a total of 93,200 refugees and asylum-seekers hosted in the country.

I personally visited a camp hosting Burkinabè refugees in northern Côte d’Ivoire. What I witnessed there left me deeply shaken. The sheer number of people I saw displaced families, children, faces marked by exile, and the accounts of those who had to abandon their homes left me speechless.

Faced with such a reality, one question becomes unavoidable: can Ibrahim Traoré truly tell us that all is well in Burkina Faso?

Behind the figures lie separated families, farmers unable to cultivate their land, children deprived of normal schooling, and communities compelled to rebuild their lives elsewhere.

This is why a so-called “reconquered” zone cannot be deemed permanently secure merely because the army has re-established a presence there. True reconquest begins when residents can return sustainably, cultivate their fields, send their children to school, access healthcare and live without fear of renewed attack.

A territory retaken on a map is not necessarily a territory made liveable again.

Is criticism of the authorities still possible?

The second question concerns the space available for dissent.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International documented in 2026 restrictions targeting journalists, civil society organisations and critical voices. HRW notably reported the dissolution of 118 civil society organisations and continues to seek explanations regarding the fate of journalist Serge Oulon.

These allegations must be examined and documented on a case-by-case basis. But the principle remains straightforward: criticising a government does not mean being against one’s country.

National security should not become an automatic response to any contradiction. A journalist seeking accountability, a citizen questioning a decision, or an organisation documenting a situation do not automatically become enemies of the nation.

The government is not the country.

The true record belongs to the people

Ibrahim Traoré may highlight his achievements. His supporters may regard military operations, investments and economic initiatives as significant progress. These elements must be assessed on the basis of verifiable facts.

But the assessment must also incorporate the displaced, the refugees, the bereaved families, the abandoned villages and those still living in uncertainty.

After four years in power, the essential questions therefore remain the following:

• How many Burkinabè can live in their own homes?

• How many can work their land?

• How many can send their children to school in safety?

• How many have had to seek refuge in neighbouring countries?

• And above all, how many can freely criticise those who govern them?

A genuine assessment should not fear these questions.

For when one is confronted with tens of thousands of Burkinabè who have sought refuge in Côte d’Ivoire and more than two million displaced within the country, it is not enough to present figures, speeches and images of achievements to declare that all is well.

The true record is also measured in the lives of those who have lost everything.

A people is not liberated by being asked to remain silent. It is liberated when it can live in safety, speak freely and hold those in power to account.

By Claire Mvondo — Security and State Policy Expert

By Pierre Tchuente — Security and Policy Analyst