KABORE: While he was on the campaign trail last November, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore had a mantra — “We shall not negotiate” — when talking about Burkina Faso’s jihadist insurgency. The policy set Kabore apart from former president Blaise Compaore, whose view was that dialogue with jihadists from neighboring Mali had discouraged attacks on Burkina Faso itself. Kabore’s declared refusal has been strongly backed by France, whose military campaign against jihadism in the Sahel is now in its ninth year.
