600 (mostly civilians) killed by al-Qaeda in Burkina Faso

Why is this the case? What are their motives? And why (other than US direction) are they focusing on the Sahel states now?

They've been focusing on the Sahel states for a while now, actually. Several states in the region (one of the poorest, most exploited regions on earth) have been liberating themselves from Francafrique imperialism and the "post-colonial" impositions on royalties for resource extraction, etc.- most prominent of which have been Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which overthrew the "democratic" regimes (which were essentially comprador dynasties) the west had imposed ever since their "independence" over the last few years, and have been trying to expel the western nations out of their foreign military bases, etc. as well.

Russia and the BRICS have been aiding these efforts- some if not all of which (I know Ibrahim Traore absolutely is) are explicitly socialist in nature. The three aforementioned Sahel states are working together to create a federation, and have pledged mutual defense (as France was trying to get ECOWAS to invade). Russia in particular has sent military (advisors? Wagner group also, etc) to help support the resistance, and is developing a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso among other things (many other developments w/ Russia and China), whereas for decades the region has been selling its uranium to France at prices that are worse than theft (and trapped under the West African franc and all its limitations- basically being forced to store a large portion of their wealth in French banks, having their monetary policy directly controlled by France, etc). Now they are also selling their resources at market rates.

The popular sentiment in the region, and the claims of the resistance, are also that while the west has been militarily occupying these countries for the longest time, citing "counter-terrorist activities," they have in fact been the ones causing the problem in the first place. Personally, obviously, I agree with that assessment (and I think anyone with half a brain cell would).

Basically that's the situation as it exists in the region, right now. The focus on the Sahel states has definitely been a thing for the past 1-2 years or more to my recollection.

Why is this the case?

As Lenin wrote in Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism, imperialist wars marked a departure from wars conducted in the prior eras in that they are fundamentally rooted in the expansion of finance capital.

The Sahel kicking out imperialists, establishing their own protectionist bloc, nationalizing resources and their economies, all of which threaten and disrupt the free flowing of trillions of dollars of American capital while shutting them out of the region.

These acts that violate the sanctity of the Free Market must be punished, by any means necessary.

Permanently Deleted

Could this group be getting funding/training from western intel, maybe through a proxy?

That was my assumption from the start, tbh (and that would fit the claims of the affected nations). Ukraine is also involved supporting these terrorists, while Russia is aiding the Sahel states.

Permanently Deleted