In an exclusive interview with France 24 and RFI from the presidential palace in Ouagadougou, the president of Burkina Faso is delighted at the release of the four hostages in Mali, but believes that "the consideration has been paid dearly".
He added that he had not been informed "at all" of the negotiations and called for the tireless pursuit of the fight against terrorism.
He announces that a new attack has taken place in his country, causing about twenty deaths.
While he admits to being surprised by the arrival of terrorism just after his election, he denies having underestimated the threat and asserts that the situation, although "difficult", is now "good" on the security level.
He affirms that French military interventions on Burkinabè soil are "punctual" and denies that their departure would allow the terrorists to arrive in Ouagadougou.
He denies having fallen into an ethnic trap consisting in arming militias targeting the Fulani.
He specifies that the "participation of the population in the defense of the homeland" is framed by the law and the army, and responds to a strategic objective: to allow "village security to anticipate terrorist attacks", supporting the army in its protection of some 8000 Burkinabe villages.
He protests against accusations by Human Rights Watch that the army has executed at least 180 civilians in the north of the country in recent months, seeing in it the mark of a "lobby" whose aim is to smear the image from his country.
He asserts that the Burkinabè army "would never dare to kill 180 people at once".
He also defends his record, pointing to the anchoring of democracy and the many infrastructure projects.
He does not want to predict victory in the first round of the election scheduled for November 22 and undertakes to respect the verdict of the ballot box, calling on his opponents to do the same.
In addition, he affirms not to have accepted the offer of services which had made to him, in a letter, the former president Blaise Compaoré: "It is not that I refuse the outstretched hand" he specifies, but this must be done in a "reconciliation process", which will take place after the election.
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