Burkina Faso: Wagner Group leader Evgueni Prigojine "supports" Captain Traoré
Businessman and creator of Wagner Evgueni Prigojine, August 9, 2016. © Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Text by: David Baché
1 min
Burkina arouses the appetites of Russia, and especially of the Wagner group.
Burkina's new strongman, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has openly expressed his intention to get closer to "
new partners
".
He cites Russia in particular.
Evgueni Prigojine, creator of the Wagner group and close to Vladimir Putin, spoke twice: the day of the coup and the next day, Saturday, thus confirming his interest in Burkina.
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Evgueni Viktorovitch Prigojine
"
welcomes
" and gives his "
support
"
to Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the new strong man of Burkina, whom he assures that he "
fights for freedom and justice
".
He had already hailed the first coup d'etat in January, believes today that Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba "
did not justify the confidence of the young officers
" who had first accompanied him, before, finally, overthrow, nine months later.
“
Until last January, the people of Burkina Faso were under the yoke of the colonialists who were looting the people
,” Prigojine further declares, directly targeting France, before estimating that the putschist soldiers “
did what was necessary
”.
Towards a partnership with the Wagner group or Russia
The service offer is barely veiled.
Have contacts already been established between the Wagner group and the new Burkinabè leaders?
In a statement released on Saturday, the putschists evoked a divergence with the deposed president, Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba, because of "
our firm desire to go to new partners, ready to help us in our fight against terrorism"
.
The Russian flag is waved at each rally in support of the putschists, in the crowd and even in the hands of certain soldiers.
Asked about his intentions vis-à-vis Russia, Captain Traoré cites her as a partner among others.
►Also read: The Russian paramilitary group Wagner would be present in Sudan, according to an NGO
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