In response to claims that they had employed Russian mercenaries to assist in the fight against jihadists, Burkina Faso military authorities summoned Ghana’s ambassador.
The presence of the Wagner Group in Burkina Faso, according to President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, was “distressing”. Islamist extremists operating across the nation have been difficult for Burkina Faso to suppress.
An analogous problem exists in neighboring Mali, which is commonly considered to be collaborating with Wagner.
There have been strong rumors since Capt Ibrahim Traoré took over in Burkina Faso in September that he may follow suit and begin collaborating with Russian mercenaries.
Security relations between the two nations and France, the former colonial power, have already been severed.
The UK’s Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, expressed worry over Russian mercenaries’ activity in West Africa when visiting Ghana. Russia’s involvement in the area, according to Mr. Mitchell, is “neither constructive nor helpful.”
In addition to promising to organize democratic elections in July 2024, Capt. Traoré has also pledged to retake territory from the jihadists.
Additionally, his government called the Burkinabe ambassador to Accra for a “consultation” in response to the Ghanaian president’s remarks.
On the eve of the US-Africa meeting in Washington, DC, President Akufo-Addo said Ghana’s northern neighbor had struck a deal with the mercenary gang.
“Today, Russian mercenaries are on our northern border. Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there,” he said.
He added that in return for the group’s assistance in putting an end to the militant insurrection that started in 2015, Burkina Faso had given up control of a mine near the Ghanaian border that was allegedly home to gold riches.
Hundreds of individuals have recently fled into northern Ghana from Burkina Faso as a result of militant attacks there.
Even though Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem recently visited Russia, there hasn’t been any official confirmation of a deal between the Wagner Group and Burkina Faso to date.
After nearly a decade of assisting in the fight against Islamist extremists in the country, France withdrew its military from the country in August, in part due to rumors that Mali was collaborating with Wagner fighters.
After nearly a decade of assisting in the fight against Islamist extremists in the country, France withdrew its military from the country in August, in part due to rumors that Mali was collaborating with Wagner fighters.
Unknown are the specifics of any agreement between Mali and the mercenary outfit, which are suspected of killing civilians and committing other atrocities in the nation.
Despite the presence of the Russian mercenaries, who the Mali military authorities have identified as teachers, jihadist attacks have persisted in several areas of the country. Additionally, Wagner has fighters in Mozambique, the Central African Republic, and Libya.