The whole region knows the drill by now. Dateline Ouagadougou. If you are watching images of pro-junta demonstrators protesting the visit of West African mediators looking for rule-of-law guarantees from their new interlocutors after a coup, there's no need to reach for the remote control as this is not a re-run. The capital of Burkina Faso just experienced its second coup in eight months, once again following a rout by an emboldened jihadist insurgency.
We ask about the disconnect between the officers in the capital and under-fire foot soldiers in the field, a disconnect that haunts the whole region.
And what about those happy to blame it all on former French colonists, whose forces were shown the door in neighbouring Mali? Imperialism seems to be in the eye of the beholder these days, with Russia happy to celebrate a new strongman.
But what about its invasion of Ukraine, which creates more food insecurity for Africa, or its track record of brutality wherever its mercenaries go? How many in Burkina Faso believe they will be better off siding with Moscow? What is Paris's response?
