APA-Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) The Burkinabe army on Thursday reported the crash of one of its combat drones, following a “technical failure.”
For almost a decade, Burkina Faso has been fighting jihadist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
“A combat drone belonging to the Burkina Faso Air Force, suffered a
technical failure in flight while returning to base after an offensive
reconnaissance mission on Wednesday, June 21, 2023,” the statement
says.
The incident, which led to the crash of the aircraft, caused no
casualties on the ground, the General Staff of the Armed Forces adds.
“Technical teams, supported by ground units, were mobilised to recover
what remains of the aircraft,” the General Staff adds.
However, the army has announced “the opening of an internal
investigations”.
“The fanciful versions imagined by certain individuals on social media platforms and illustrated by crude photo montages are pure fiction,”
the Burkinabe army says.
Earlier on Wednesday, the governor of the Centre-East region, Colonel
Abdoul Karim Lamizana, announced that “an army drone will be flying
over the town of Tenkodogo (Boulgour province) on June 21, 2023.”
Tenkodogo is located 184 kilometers southeast of Ouagadougou.
“In case its comes down, the population must not panic,” the governor had indicated.
As part of the fight against religious insurgents, Ouagadougou has acquired
Bayraktar TB2 combat drones from Turkish manufacturer Baykar.
These more affordable machines are also present in the air vector of several
West African countries facing jihadist insurgencies.
SD/ac/fss/as/APA