Bamako and Ouagadougou have butressed security alliance as Burkina Faso’s Minister of Security, Mahamadou Sana, began a working visit to Mali Bamako on Sunday.
Sana met his Malian counterpart Daoud Aly Mohammedine, in a context marked by a new influx of Burkinabe refugees in the border area of Koro inside Mali.
Police Commissioner Mahamadou Sana has been holding talks in Bamako aimed at strengthening security cooperation between Mali and Burkina Faso.
He was received by Major General Daoud Aly Mohammedine, Mali’s Minister of Security and Civil Protection.
The two countries, both members of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) along with Niger, have in recent years stepped up consultations aimed at improving coordination against armed groups, securing border areas, controlling major transit routes, and protecting civilian populations.
The visit comes days after a warning from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regarding a new influx of Burkinabe refugees into Koro, in the Bandiagara region, about 36 kilometres from the Burkina Faso border. According to the UN agency, arrivals began on May 26, 2026, involving people from several border villages in the commune of Toéni in Sourou Province, Boucle du Mouhoun region.
Villages of origin include Kwarémenguel, Sané, Sangha, Sia, Gana, Goulo and Sôrô, according to humanitarian teams. The new arrivals are mostly women, children and the elderly who reached Koro on foot or by motorbike after fleeing attacks in their localities.
UNHCR teams, the national refugee commission, local authorities and humanitarian partners are currently conducting profiling of the arrivals and assessing their needs. Priority requirements include shelter, food assistance, access to clean water, hygiene kits, healthcare and psychosocial support.
The Koro area already hosts a large number of refugees from Burkina Faso. According to available humanitarian data, Mali was hosting more than 165,000 Burkinabe and Nigerien refugees at the beginning of 2026. In the Koro area alone, UNHCR figures indicated that as of February 28, 2026, 51,399 new arrivals had been recorded since April 2025, while 67,862 Burkinabe refugees were registered and a further 6,277 pre-registered.
The situation is placing increasing pressure on basic social services in host communities, particularly water supply, healthcare, sanitation, shelter and food security. UNHCR has called for increased resource mobilisation to support both refugees and host populations.
Talks in Bamako are expected to focus on security responses to cross-border threats and on strengthening coordination between the two countries’ security services. They come in the aftermath of coordinated attacks on April 25 in Mali and amid a persistently fragile security situation in Burkina Faso, where several border areas continue to be affected by armed violence.
MD/te/Sf/lb/as/APA