Ouagadougou: To obtain the degree of doctor in communication, Hamidou Sangla, defended last Thursday at the Joseph Ki Zerbo University, his thesis on 'Public communication in the face of the fight against terrorism in Burkina Faso over the period 2015-2022'. The jury considered the work admissible and current and awarded it a very honorable mention.For Dr Sangla, 'the war we are waging is not only military', it is also communicative.However, he regrets, since the security situation which prevailed in the north of Mali, Burkina Faso has not developed public communication of a preventive nature which could enable it to raise citizens' awareness of the issues linked to peace and security. fight against violent extremism.For him, this research was carried out to show that communication can be a variable that can help Burkina Faso to curb the terrorism it has been experiencing since 2015.However, he deplored that between December 2015 (date of the first terrorist attacks) and October 2022, the State did no t develop a rigorous operational communication strategy to deal with the situation.According to him, the State limited itself to 'reactive communication which caused among many Burkinabè people a breakdown in trust between those who govern and those who are governed.This rupture, he added, has fueled disinformation and encouraged the emergence of hate speech, exacerbating the current crisis.Dr Sangla suggests that the State develop a preventive communication strategy to raise awareness among the population and counter violent extremism.The jury was composed of: Professor Serge Théophile Balima (Full Professor, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagadougou), president; Firmin Gouba (Lecturer, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagadougou), thesis director; Dimitri Régis Balima (Lecturer, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagadougou); Bassémory Koné (Lecturer, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Ivory Coast) and Pierre Emile Bazyomo (Lecturer, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagadougou). He judged the work admissible, curre nt and awarded it the very honorable mention.Source: Burkina Information Agency