Burkina Faso’s military authorities have launched a sweeping security operation in the capital Ouagadougou and other key areas of the country, responding to a surge of coordinated jihadist and Tuareg rebel attacks in neighbouring Mali.

Security sources say heavily armed police and gendarmerie units have been deployed to strategic intersections, government districts and transport hubs in Ouagadougou. Patrols have been reinforced on major roads leading to the north and west, corridors long used by armed groups moving between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The security ministry has urged citizens to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious behaviour, particularly around sensitive sites such as military barracks, airports, administrative buildings and energy or communications infrastructure. Authorities describe the operation as both preventive and intelligence-driven, designed to disrupt potential plots before they materialise.

A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the units on the streets are tasked not only with visible deterrence but also with gathering operational intelligence on criminal and terrorist networks. Plainclothes officers have reportedly been integrated into the deployment to monitor movements in crowded markets, bus stations and peripheral neighbourhoods.

The heightened alert follows what officials describe as unprecedented attacks in Mali, where jihadist factions linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, along with Tuareg rebels, have intensified operations against military positions and state symbols. The violence has raised fears of a fresh destabilisation wave across the Sahel, a region already battered by a decade of insurgency.

A Burkinabe military source said the army is on a state of alert, stressing that the country considers itself at war with extremist groups entrenched in its northern and eastern provinces. The source added that while security operations in the capital are not unusual, the scale and intensity have been increased in response to the deteriorating situation in Mali.

Across the region, governments are recalibrating their posture. Niger’s junta has cancelled traditional public parades for security reasons, while Ivory Coast, which borders both Mali and Burkina Faso, has reinforced its frontier and is preparing for a possible influx of refugees fleeing the latest violence.

The coordinated measures underscore how closely the security of Sahelian states is intertwined, and how quickly turmoil in one country can ripple across already fragile borders.