Captain Ibrahim Traore spoke to the nation on Thursday 11 July 2024, accusing Burkina Faso’s neighbours of attempts to destabilise his country.
The Burkinabe leader claimed he had “proof” of the existence of a centre of operations in Côte d’Ivoire aimed at undermining the peace and stability of Burkina Faso.
“We have nothing against the Ivorian people. But we do have something against those who run Côte d’Ivoire. We say it and we’ll say it again. There is indeed a centre of operations in Abidjan to destabilise our country,” Captain Ibrahim Traore declared.
He announced that he would provide proof of this in the coming days.
“We will show you physical proof and you will understand what we are talking about,” the president said, also accusing neighbouring Benin of harbouring “French bases directed against us.”
He added: “There are indeed two French bases in Benin, and we have proof. Runways have been built, soldiers are equipped”.
This is the first time that the Burkina Faso authorities have accused Benin. Unlike Niger, which has on several occasions accused its neighbour of harbouring French military bases where members of armed terrorist groups would be trained to attack the country.
Ds/Sf/fss/as/APA