Burkina Faso: there is no diplomatic break with France, according to President Traoré
The president of the transition in Burkina Faso, captain Ibrahim Traoré, in Ouagadougou on Sunday October 2, 2022. AFP - -
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Ten days after having requested the departure within a month of Burkina Faso of the French troops of Saber, for the first time, the president of the transition breaks his silence.
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Captain Traoré spoke for more than an hour on Radio-Télévision Burkinabé.
In the war against terrorism, the head of the transition has promised a new page with the upcoming deployment of thousands of volunteers for the defense of the homeland whose training is coming to an end.
90,000 Burkinabè would have presented themselves to be recruited.
VDPs qualified as "Wagner of Burkina" by the President of the Transition, according to whom the jihadists would be on the defensive.
“
The offensive which began in November against these armed terrorist groups led them to change their core target.
They are desperate, which means that they are increasingly attacking unarmed civilians.
It's also a way to challenge the population, to keep morale up, because it will be hard, but it won't be for long
, ”he promised.
The president of the transition in Burkina Faso has also denied the presence of mercenaries from the Russian company Wagner.
Another axis defended by Captain Traoré, the rupture of the defense agreement with Paris.
However, there was no break in diplomatic relations but an acknowledgment of failure at the level of military cooperation after the refusal of certain partners to equip the Volunteers for the defense of the homeland.
There is no grudge against any particular partner, it is a military agreement.
In the text of the agreement, it is provided that one of the parties can denounce it.
So it's just a process that has been started, it has nothing to do with diplomacy.
The French embassy is there, French nationals are there, as is our embassy there.
Nothing diplomatically has been touched.
Our sovereignty depends on us, and that is what we demand through the denunciation of this agreement.
Ibrahim Traore
As for the participation of Ouagadougou within the G5 Sahel, captain Ibrahim Traoré promises a decision after an analysis of the results of the organization since its creation.
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