By John Ikani
Mali’s coup leader, Colonel Assimi Goita and the leader of Burkina Faso’s military junta, Lt. Col Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba have agreed to strengthen their military partnership.
A statement issued by the the Burkinabe presidency revealed that the agreement was reached on Saturday when the junta leaders met in Malian capital, Bamako to discuss bilateral cooperation.
The visit coincided with the release of three Ivorian female soldiers , part of a group of 49 Ivorian military, detained in Mali since July.
“Today we have conducted a friendly visit to Mali in the framework of cooperation that exists between Burkina (Faso) and Mali, and it was also a good time for us, since we are in periods of transition, to come meet the Malian authorities to share and exchange on the challenges which confront the Malian transition (government) and also on the side of Burkina Faso.
“We agreed to better examine and reinforce the military partnership that exists between us to overcome the security challenges that confront our populations in the coming days”, said Lt. Col. Damiba, interim president of Burkina Faso.
Goita seized power in Mali in August 2020, then installed an interim government led by civilians. He deposed those leaders in May 2021 and was later sworn in as interim president.
In Burkina, Damiba overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kabore in late January, accusing him of having been unable to curb the jihadist violence.
A decade-long jihadist insurgency that began in northern Mali and later extended across the country and to Burkina Faso and Niger has claimed thousands of lives and displaced more than two million people across the three countries, according to official estimates.
Mali earlier this year pulled out of the regional G5 Sahel military force to fight the insurgents that also included Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.
In late August, Burkina Faso and Niger urged Mali to reconsider.
The same month, France withdrew its last troops from the long-running Barkhane mission in Mali.
Damiba and Goita also discussed the contingent of Ivorian soldiers currently detained in Mali accused of being mercenaries, the Burkinabe presidency said.
On Saturday, Mali released three women among 49 soldiers held since July.
After Mali, the Burkinabe leader travels to the Ivory Coast on Monday as tensions grow between the two neighbouring countries.
