Burkina PM vows no deal with insurgents, hints at election delay

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (AFP):

Burkina Faso’s prime minister has ruled out negotiations with insurgents who control swathes of the country, while suggesting that security risks could delay the country’s return to civilian rule.

His comments to lawmakers came as officials reported the deaths of around 40 people in weekend attacks.

“We will never negotiate, either over Burkina Faso’s territorial integrity or its sovereignty,” Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela told the Transitional Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

Burkina Faso has been ruled since 2022 by a junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, who has promised a return to democracy with presidential elections by July 2024.

But de Tambela suggested that attacks could see that timeframe pushed back.

“We cannot organise elections without security. If you have a magic wand to ensure we can hold elections as soon as possible, we’d do it,” de Tambela told the representatives.

“If we organised elections now, while part of our territory is inaccessible, they’ll say that whoever is elected has been wrongly elected,” he said.

He added that the government aimed to double the number of volunteers for the VDP civil defence militia to 100,000 as part of Traore’s pledge to recapture the 40 percent of the country’s territory seized since 2015 by fighters affiliated with Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.

“The only negotiations that matter with these armed bandits are those taking place on the battlefield,” de Tambela told the Transitional Legislative Assembly.

De Tambela said that “thanks to our efforts” more than 20,000 households, representing more than 125,000 people, “have returned to their regions,” without giving further detail.

“We will defend our territory and our populations whatever the cost,” he declared.

The VDP — Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) — comprises civilian volunteers who are given two weeks’ military training.

They then work alongside the army, typically carrying out surveillance, information-gathering or escort duties.

The force is one of the cornerstones of Traore’s anti-insurgency strategy.

But since its inception in December 2019, the VDP has suffered hundreds of casualties, especially in ambushes or roadside bombings.

Despite the high losses, the authorities launched a successful recruitment drive last year for the force.

Around 90,000 people signed up in response to a call for patriotism, far exceeding the target of 50,000.