Burkina Faso’s military head of state, Ibrahim Traore, has forcefully rejected claims by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo of Burkina Faso’s alleged involvement with the Russian mercenary Wagner Group.
In an interview with Alain Foka, President Traore labeled the statement false, without mentioning specific names, and stressed that last year’s accusations were baseless.
“Unfortunately, we have seen heads of state. [Akufo-Addo] Who fell for that lie and went on to tell a lie that supposedly provided Russia with land mines in the south of our country. That’s a lie,” he said.
“Why give? If the Russians want landmines, we have a mining code. They have to come, integrate, get a license, pay taxes and do it like everyone else. “We will do everything we have to do. Therefore, we have nothing to give to the Russians,” he said.
At last year’s US-African summit in Washington, Akufo-Addo claimed that Burkina Faso was at war with Russian mercenaries, particularly Wagner’s forces, and suggested that Burkina Faso was compensating them with landmines. did.
After speaking with the Ghanaian ambassador, Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its disapproval of these statements, stressing that Ghana could have sought accurate information through diplomatic channels.
“It’s fake news again,” Traore said, adding that if Russia engages in mining activities, it must comply with Burkina Faso’s mining regulations, obtain licenses and pay tax obligations like any other company. I made it clear that I needed to.
Expressing his commitment to Burkina Faso’s sovereignty, Traoré said: “If the arrangement is to serve one master instead of another, we do that because we are saying ‘homeland or death.’ I would have rather died.”
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He further highlighted the diversity of Burkina Faso’s international relations, noting its partnerships with Turkey and China in the fight against terrorism.
Referring to the presence of foreign troops, including Russians, in Burkina Faso, he clarified that there are currently no Russians actively participating in the fighting on the front lines.
Alain Foka is a Cameroonian journalist with over 30 years of experience. Until late last year, Alien was leading several Africa-focused productions in his RFI senior journalist role.
Ga/Sarah
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