Burkina junta chief holds talks in Mali on first foreign trip

Bamako, Mali (AFP):

Burkina Faso’s new military leader visited Mali on Wednesday for his first foreign trip since taking power, holding what his Malian counterpart hailed as “fruitful” exchange of views on peace and security.

Captain Ibrahim Traore, who seized power in Burkina Faso in a coup on September 30, flew to the Malian capital Bamako.

Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goita, who came to power in an August 2020 putsch, said on Twitter: “With a view to improving the security of our respective populations, (Traore) and I had fruitful exchanges this afternoon on the major challenges that impact the peace and stability of our states.”

The two leaders held private talks before continuing on to the presidency for further meetings with their respective delegations.

A Burkinabe official had earlier said the main issue discussed would be “the fight against terrorism”, referring to the two countries’ struggle against militancy.

The two Sahel states rank among the poorest and most volatile nations in the world.

Along with neighbouring Niger, the two countries have suffered thousands of fatalities and more than two million people have fled their homes.

Traore ousted Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who in January had toppled Burkina’s last elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Under Goita, Mali began to weave closer ties with the Kremlin, acquiring aircraft to strengthen its beleaguered armed forces and bringing in Russian “trainers”, described as “Wagner mercenaries.”

As this relationship intensified, ties with Paris, Mali’s former colonizer, deteriorated and France became a target of vilification.

Paris this year pulled out the last troops it had deployed in Mali as part of its Barkhane military intervention force in the Sahel.