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24 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Burkina Faso authorities have assured that they do not maintain ties with the Wagner Group, owned by an oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, after demanding that France withdraw its military and amid complaints about the presence of Russian mercenaries. in the African country.
The Burkinabe Foreign Minister, Olivia Rouamba, has told an envoy from the Czech Republic that Ouagadougou is looking for “an endogenous solution to fight insecurity.” “Our security forces, our ‘volunteers’, are the Wagner of Burkina Faso,” she said.
Likewise, he stressed that the authorities are committed to promoting a transition in line with the claims of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as reported by the Burkinabé Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its website.
The accusations against Burkina Faso for the alleged use of Russian mercenaries were made in December by the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, who stated that “there are Russian mercenaries on the northern border (of Ghana)”, before adding that “Burkina Faso has reached an agreement to join Mali in employing the forces of the Wagner Group.”
Rouamba’s words came after the Burkinabe government spokesman, Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, confirmed that Ouagadougou had asked Paris to withdraw French troops, while requesting “material support” from the country’s “friends” to reinforce operations against terrorism in the African country.
“The vision of the transition is that it is the Burkinabe themselves who carry out the sacrifice for the liberation of our territory, the reconquest of the integrity of the territory and the refoundation,” he said, while stressing that Burkina Faso wants to “count with their own means to win the war”.
On the other hand, the authorities have announced the neutralization of “several terrorists” and the destruction of their bases in operations carried out between December 15 and January 15. They have also said that two soldiers also died, according to the Burkinabe state news agency, AIB.
Burkina Faso, ruled by a military junta since the January 2022 coup against then-president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, has experienced increased insecurity since 2015. The junta is now headed by Ibrahim Traoré, who starred in September a coup that was considered a “palace coup” against the hitherto leader, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
The attacks, carried out by both the Al Qaeda affiliate and the Islamic State affiliate in the region, have also contributed to an increase in inter-communal violence and have caused self-defense groups to flourish, to which the Burkinabe government has added ‘volunteers ‘. The deterioration of security has caused a wave of internally displaced persons and refugees to other countries in the region.
