President of Burkina Faso accuses Côte d'Ivoire and Benin of seeking to destabilize his country
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The President of the Transition in Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, on Thursday accused his neighbours Côte d'Ivoire and Benin of trying to destabilize his country.
“We have nothing against the Ivorian people. But we do have something against those who run Côte d'Ivoire. We've said it before and we'll say it again. There is indeed a centre of operations in Abidjan to destabilize our country,” declared Mr. Traoré in an interview with the Forces vives de la nation.
“No one can deny this, and we will provide the proof in the days to come. We will show you physical evidence and you will understand what we are talking about,” he added.
With regard to Benin, he maintained that this country was hosting French bases directed against Burkina Faso.
“We have the evidence at hand. Two major bases. No one can dispute that. And I challenge them. We have nothing against the people of Benin. But we do have a problem with the policies of Benin's leaders. And we're saying it loud and clear once again,” he added.
He stated: “In this diplomacy, we have decided to say (...) Runways have been redeveloped that are more than 3,000 metres long. Planes are landing, people are equipping and training terrorists there. We have audio recordings of French agents in Benin who are playing at the terrorists' centres of operations. They set up operations with them, they help them to get treatment, they do everything there is to do. We have all the details about them. And you don't want us to tell our people? We'll tell them. If they don't want to, they should stop behaving like this. It's that simple.”
“We have not forced anyone to become independent. If you decide to stay in your current situation, don't take over countries to turn them into rear bases, because it's your people who will suffer afterwards. And that is not a good policy,” said the President of Burkina Faso.
-0- PANA TNDD/JSG/BBA/RA 11July2024
