Russia’s top diplomat promises more military support for Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday promised more support for Burkina Faso in the fight against militant groups as he pressured his whirlwind tour of West Africa in an attempt to fill the void left by the region’s traditional Western partners.

Sergey Lavrov spoke at a press conference in the country’s capital, Ouagadougou, during the third stop of his latest trip to Africa, after Guinea and the Republic of the Congo.

Russia is trying to shore up support for the region amid Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In recent years, several African countries have expressed growing frustration with their traditional Western partners, such as France and the United States. .

“Russian instructors have been working here and their number will increase,” Lavrov said, adding that Russia has been helping to train Burkina Faso’s military and law enforcement personnel. “We have supplied and will continue to supply military equipment to help strengthen Burkina Faso’s defense capabilities and enable it to eliminate remaining terrorist groups.”

Lavrov said he appreciated Burkina Faso’s “objective and fair” position on the war in Ukraine. “For our part, we are ready to lend our support to the just cause of Africans trying to free themselves from neocolonial influence.”

Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation of 20 million people, has been devastated over the past eight years by violence by extremist groups loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and by fighting between government forces and the militants.

The country also suffered two coups in just 10 months, the second last year, after which a military junta expelled French forces and turned to Russia for security support. However, the junta has struggled to contain the humanitarian and security crisis.

Burkina Faso tops the list of the world’s largest neglected crises for the second year in a row, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. A record 6.3 million of 20 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2024, the aid organization said, and many of them will be on the brink of famine. Two million people remain internally displaced, around 60% of them children. Many have been traumatized, but Resources to help them are scarce..

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the agency, told The Associated Press that Western governments have been withdrawing financial aid from Burkina Faso and other countries in the Sahel, a region that encompasses states on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, contributing to the vicious cycle. of poverty. , violence and extremism.

“The West’s withdrawal does not give them any influence in the region,” Egeland said. “But I have not seen Russia helping us in our humanitarian work or carrying out development programs, so the Russian approach will not bring relief that the people need.”

But he added: “I see Russian flags in Burkina Faso. “I don’t see European flags.”

Later on Wednesday, Lavrov arrived in Chad, which is also on the list of the world’s neglected crises.

___

Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal.