Military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger present themselves as the voice of restored popular sovereignty.
In the same period, political parties have been dissolved in all three countries, more than a thousand civil society organizations have been suspended in Burkina Faso, and labor unions have been targeted in Niger.
In a report from Global Voices, published as part of its September 2026 “Protest in Democracy” series, journalist Jean Sovon traces how the space for organized dissent has narrowed across the central Sahel since the coups that began in 2020.
The most recent upheaval came on the night of August 28–29, 2026, when heavy gunfire and explosions were heard in Niamey, Niger.
An attempted military mutiny targeting the presidency, the airport and national television was repelled by General Abdourahamane Tiani’s regime, with the support of Russian forces, according to the report.
On June 30, 2026, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announced the permanent closure of its office in Burkina Faso, after authorities had suspended its activities in February.
On July 29, 2026, CIVICUS added Burkina Faso to its international watch list, documenting at least 1,174 civil society organizations suspended or dissolved since the start of the year.
Three countries, one institutional path
Before the military took power, thousands of citizens had already taken to the streets in all three countries to protest poor governance, insecurity and corruption.
In Mali, the 2020 protests contributed to the context in which the army overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. In Burkina Faso, the two coups of 2022 occurred amid widespread frustration over insecurity.
In Niger, the ouster of elected President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023 was followed by a military statement emphasizing national sovereignty.
In Mali, a national consultation boycotted by a large portion of the political class recommended in late April 2025 the dissolution of political parties and the installation of General Assimi Goïta as president for a five-year term.
The decree dissolving the parties was signed on May 13, 2025, despite two protests organized in early May in Bamako by political parties and civil society organizations to oppose it.
According to a regional situation report cited by Global Voices, these were the first opposition demonstrations in Bamako since 2020. Independent UN experts warned that the measure paved the way for the criminalization of all political activity.
On July 3, 2025, Goïta’s term was set at five years, renewable “as many times as necessary,” according to France 24.
Since early May 2026, Malian authorities have also intensified their crackdown on the political opposition through arbitrary arrests, documented by a recurring pattern of abductions attributed to the National Agency for State Security.
In Burkina Faso, political activities were suspended as of September 30, 2022, and all political parties were formally dissolved on January 29, 2026, a move described as “definitive” by CIVICUS.
On April 15, 2026, 118 civil society organizations active in human rights, health or education were dissolved under a July 2025 law on freedom of association.
Asked about the situation, Binta Sidibé Gascon, president of the Kisal Observatory, told Human Rights Watch:
La dissolution massive des organisations de la société civile n’est que le dernier acte de la junte du Burkina Faso pour faire taire la dissidence et éviter toute analyse de son bilan peu reluisant en matière de droits humains.
Cette décision renforce un climat de peur qui paralyse l’activité civique indépendante.
The mass dissolution of civil society organizations is merely the latest move by the Burkina Faso junta to silence dissent and prevent any scrutiny of its dismal human rights record.
This decision reinforces a climate of fear that paralyzes independent civic activity.
In Niger, on March 26, 2025, President Abdourahamane Tiani signed a decree dissolving all political parties, which had already been suspended since the July 2023 coup.
In August 2025, several labor unions representing legal professionals were in turn dissolved, prompting condemnation from the Niger Bar Association and a two-day general strike by lawyers, according to Human Rights Watch.
In its July 2026 report, the organization lists several restrictive measures taken by the military authorities, including dissolving political parties and independent unions, detaining journalists under a cybercrime law, revoking citizenship from opponents, announcing a withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, and extending the transition period with no prospect of elections.
Who speaks for the people?
The three juntas justify these measures using the same rhetoric: sovereignty, national renewal and the fight against foreign interference.
Amnesty International formalized the observation in a statement presented to the UN Human Rights Council, noting that in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, military regimes are gradually restricting freedoms in the name of the fight against imperialism and the protection of national sovereignty, with laws enforced by decree, without parliamentary oversight or constitutional review.
Amnesty International collected testimonies from three journalists still working in the three countries, using pseudonyms, in a report published on April 30, 2026. One, identified as Mohamed C., said:
I think the crackdown is most severe in Burkina Faso, but in all three countries, there’s been a major setback. Quality media outlets, with history and tradition, are at risk of disappearing (…).
The same report notes that Amnesty had already documented the crackdown on the media in Niger in a March 2025 report, before launching a campaign in October 2025 dedicated to the situation of activists and journalists in the three countries.
When political parties and unions disappear
In Burkina Faso, on May 26, 2026, the arrest of Imam Mohamed Ishaq Kindo, a critic of a bill regulating religious practices, sparked outrage among his followers, who protested in the capital, Ouagadougou, before being dispersed by law enforcement.
In Niger, it was lawyers, through their professional association, who led the protest following the dissolution of the judicial unions in 2025 — a form of institutional resistance rather than street protest, as documented by Human Rights Watch.
Security as a barrier to protest
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are facing armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda (JNIM) and the Islamic State.
Civilians are the primary victims. In Burkina Faso, Amnesty International documented that between March 10 and 11, 2026, the army and its VDP auxiliaries unlawfully killed at least 58 unarmed civilians in and around Solenzo.
Human Rights Watch notes that in all three countries, governments have continued to restrict freedom of expression, dissent and the media while pursuing their disengagement from regional and international bodies — effective withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and all three countries’ withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.
Can a democracy exist without the right to disagree?
Although they share the same context, the three countries have not followed identical paths. The levels of popular support for the authorities differ, as does the intensity of the armed conflict.
Do those who govern on behalf of the people still accept hearing a portion of that people respond to them in the streets or from exile, saying, “We do not agree”?
Source: Global Voices
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