Burkina Faso: Anti-terrorist war/ Ibrahim Traoré focus on his position “No way to negotiate”
Captain Ibrahim Traoré stays focus on his position. He remains committed to his approach to eradicate terrorist violence in Burkina Faso. The war remains strategic and armed, and there will be “no negotiation” with the attacking groups, the President affirms, remaining firm in his position.
«There is not a single inch of this territory that we will negotiate», he insisted during an exclusive interview granted on Thursday to two of our colleagues.
The Transitional President justifies this position based on the negative consequences that previous governments’ negotiations have had on the combativeness and effectiveness of the war.
According to his statements, negotiations have allowed the terrorists to thrive and have prolonged the war. This approach has been blamed for the inaction that was previously criticized in the military’s response to armed group invasions, and has created a distance between the population and the fighters who are supposed to protect them.
Even worse, the funds given to the attackers allowed them to resupply with weapons and be in a position of superiority during the fights.
«We will not give anything, not even 1 franc from taxpayers», Captain Traoré said. If taxpayers give us money, we prefer to buy weapons than to negotiate,” he added.
During the interview, several other current topics were discussed, including the massacre in Karma. Captain Traoré expressed his indignation at the “hasty conclusions” and arbitrary accusations made against the armed forces without waiting for the results of investigations:
Why accuse [the army] directly just because it is said that they [the assailants] came with pickups and army outfits», he questioned.
The President reminds that the army has lost armored vehicles and pickups in the numerous attacks committed by jihadists in the country. “Knowing this, we cannot immediately accuse the Defense and Security Forces [FDS]. We wait for investigators to do their job.”
H. Nelchael
