An opposition coalition in Togo has denounced Friday the «silence» of the authorities in the face of the increase of violence in the north of the African country, affected in recent months by an upsurge of jihadist attacks in the face of the expansion of insecurity from the Sahel to the Gulf of Guinea.
Gérard Adja, a senior official of Dynamique Monseigneur Kpodzro (DMK) – which brings together seven parties and six civil organizations – lamented that «for some time now there have been terrorists attacking soldiers in the north of the country» and claimed that the opposition would like the authorities to «inform the Togolese of what is happening».
«Our country is worried. Not long ago, the government asked the living forces of the nation, political parties and civil society associations, to support the Armed Forces on the ground, but we cannot support these people if we do not know what is going on,» he explained, speaking to Radio France Internationale. «We are very indignant about the silence of the government,» he added.
«There are dead, soldiers falling, populations being displaced en masse and civilians killed. This is what happens, given that social networks inform us that our soldiers die. Those who have the capacity to inform Togolese do not do so. We do not understand why the government is not speaking out about this situation, as it is not normal for such serious things to happen in our country,» Adja concluded.
The Sahel area in particular, and now increasingly that of the Gulf of Guinea, have become a priority for Al Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates operating in the region, especially in Burkina Faso, which has seen a significant increase in attacks since 2015.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
