In the first half of 2024, with the recapture of 69 percent of the territory, the Minister of Defense has achieved 35 percent of the objective contained in his contract.
Brigadier General Kassoum Coulibaly said on Wednesday that almost 70 percent of the territory is under the control of the Burkinabe army.
“In 2022, 40 percent of the territory was under the control of the army. We have to say that now, on the ground, we have evaluated up to 69 percent,” said the minister in charge of defense.
“The remaining 31 percent are areas where there is hardly anyone. We’re trying to recapture them first. At the moment, with our territorial network, we’re taking large areas and then trying to spread out around them, and we’re making slow progress,” explained General Coulibaly.
According to him, this result is due to the army and the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP).
In military operations, he stressed that the emphasis is on cooperation with the defense and security forces and on their training in human rights, in order to avoid excesses or excursions.
“We make sure that there is vigilance at this level. In Burkina, we assume that we are at war, so we can’t hide the truth anymore. If there’s something going on, you have to tell everyone so they can take precautions,” he said.
DS/te/Sf/lb/as/APA