According to a Reuters report, approximately 100 soldiers were killed in an attack by al Qaeda-linked insurgents on a Burkina Faso military base near the Niger border. The attack sparked immediate speculation of a coup attempt against the country’s military government, which itself came to power through a coup. However, Capt Ibrahim Traoré, the junta leader, refuted these claims in a national TV address.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the incident, Traoré stated that Burkina Faso had initiated an operation in response to the attack and had sent reinforcements to combat the insurgents. He did not address the al Qaeda involvement directly. “It’s absolutely not the case. We are here,” Traoré assured, addressing the crowd gathered outside the offices of the state-run RTB Television.
This statement was in response to concerns about his safety after gunfire was heard near the presidential residence and a rocket shell landed close to RTB’s headquarters in Ouagadougou on June 12. “The incident happened while we were at the council of ministers,” Traoré confirmed. He explained that the rocket shell resulted from an accidental discharge by the unit stationed at RTB to protect the TV station’s staff, noting that there were no casualties.
A Reuters source indicated that Russian and Malian reinforcements had been brought in over the past week to bolster Capt Ibrahim Traoré’s security. The neighboring junta-led governments in the region have increasingly relied on Russian support over Western assistance for security amid widespread political instability and Islamist insurgencies.
Between June 15 and June 18, a Russian-registered cargo jet made seven flights to Ouagadougou from Gao and Bamako in Mali, as per a Reuters analysis of FlightRadar24 flight monitoring data.
