The leader of Burkina Faso’s military junta, Ibrahim Traoré, has paid a visit to a military base in the town of Djibo (north) attacked by jihadists at the end of October and acknowledged «dysfunctionalities» in the fight against terrorism.
«Congratulations for the work carried out, courage for what lies ahead,» he said, before asking the military to «maintain the potential.» «We will go wherever the population needs us. We will reconquer the territory,» he stressed.
Traoré acknowledged the difficulties faced by some detachments such as Djibo, where some soldiers have been deployed «for more than two years», while he indicated that the reliefs will be effective in order to allow the forces to rest.
In this regard, he also stressed that supplies and support to those deployed will be improved, according to a statement published by the Office of Communication of the Presidency of Burkina Faso on its official account on the social network Facebook.
Traoré’s visit comes nearly two weeks after at least ten soldiers were killed and more than 50 wounded in an October 24 attack on the facility, the deadliest since he came to power in a new coup d’état in September.
The assault, considered a ‘palace coup’ by a section of the military junta opposed to the then leader of the junta, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba – who has fled to Togo – took place in the face of the continuing deterioration of the security situation and attacks by jihadist groups.
Burkina Faso has generally experienced a significant increase in insecurity since 2015, with attacks by both Al Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates, leading to a wave of internally displaced persons and refugees to other countries in the region.
