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Voxpress:

Russian mercenaries leave Burkina Faso to stop Ukrainian incursion into Russia

2024-09-07 18:29:51Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Russian mercenaries leave Burkina Faso to stop Ukrainian incursion into Russia
Russian mercenaries

Russian mercenaries contracted to provide security in West Africa's Burkina Faso began leaving in late August. Their new mission is said to be to halt the advance of Ukrainian forces into Russian territory. The data shows that mercenaries have had little impact in the Sahel's war against Islamic terrorist groups. As VOA correspondent Henry Wilkins reports, Burkina Faso faced one of the deadliest militant attacks in recent years in the same week that the Russian mercenaries left.

Militants killed between 100 and 300 people in the August 24 attack on a town in northern Burkina Faso. It was among the deadliest attacks in the Sahel region by groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

The attack happened the same week that the Russian mercenary group "Bear Brigade" announced its partial withdrawal from Burkina Faso to help resist the incursion of Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.

An expert told VOA that the mercenaries had helped with the personal security of Burkina Faso's military chief, Captain Ibrahim Traore, and government officials.

"The withdrawal of mercenaries raises many questions about what will happen to the security of officials in Burkina Faso, who are facing a number of challenges," says Mamadou Bodian with the International Peace Research Institute in Stockholm.

Since September of last year, Captain Ibrahim Traore has avoided two coup attempts, according to authorities.

He took over the country in a coup in 2022, with claims that the previous military junta had failed to fight Islamic militants. He ended military cooperation with France and withdrew from the ECOWAS regional political bloc, employing Russian mercenaries in the war effort.

But Russian intervention has not stopped the strengthening of Islamic terrorist groups in the Sahel region, says analyst Bodian.

"The situation today continues to be bad as the army is forced to leave large areas in many parts of the country, while terrorist groups gain more ground."

In recent years, Russia has sent mercenaries to other African countries as well.

According to the non-profit organization "Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project", during the last year the deaths from conflict in three African countries have increased by about 26%./VOA


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