By John Ikani
Burkina Faso’s military leader, Ibrahim Traore, addressed the nation on Thursday, refuting claims of a mutiny within the armed forces.
This follows a devastating attack by insurgents linked to al Qaeda that resulted in the deaths of over 100 soldiers near the Niger border.
For the first time since the assault, Traore spoke without directly acknowledging the al Qaeda-linked group’s responsibility claim.
He mentioned that Burkina Faso had responded to the attack by initiating an operation and sending in reinforcements.
Reports from media and activists had raised concerns about Traore’s safety after gunfire was heard near the presidential palace, and a rocket shell exploded close to the RTB Television headquarters in Ouagadougou on June 12.
“It’s absolutely not the case. We are here,” Traore stated to the assembly outside RTB’s headquarters, denying any mutiny. “The incident happened while we were at the council of ministers.”
He clarified that the rocket that hit RTB’s courtyard was mistakenly fired by those guarding the TV station’s personnel. Although injuries occurred, there were no fatalities.
A day before this, the country’s army endured one of its deadliest attacks in the Mansila region. The Al Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the assault.
The SITE Intelligence Group cited a JNIM statement saying that “fighters stormed a military post in the town, where they killed 107 soldiers and took control of the site”.
