Relations between Benin and its neighbours to the north have steadily deteriorated since the military came to power in those countries.
Accused recently by Niger and Burkina Faso, Cotonou retorts and talks of disinformation.
Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, Benin’s Permanent Secretary and government spokesman, has responded to the accusations made by the President of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traore. Traore had claimed on the morning of Thursday 11 July that Benin was home to French military bases designed to harm Burkina Faso, adding that he had evidence of a centre of operations in Abidjan aimed at destabilising his country.
“For reasons of domestic politics, our brothers and neighbours are trying to make us the source of their problems. This is a pernicious trend, coming from soldiers who know these camps and their purpose,” declared Houngbedji on social media.
He added that “after Niger, it is now Burkina-Faso’s turn to blow this nauseating trumpet of disinformation, which fuels not patriotism, but rather resentment among the population and ultimately threatens the peaceful coexistence of peoples.”
The Beninese government spokesman also said that populism displaces problems without solving them, and that people will eventually realise that they have been deceived.
According to Houngbedji, “it’s the pot calling the kettle black,” recalling that “the terrorist attacks witnessed in Benin to date, the vast majority of which have been foiled by our defence and security forces, are the handiwork of people from across our borders with Burkina Faso and Niger.”
He pointed out that “this is why the government of Benin, as part of its strategy to counter the phenomenon, has been building small military camps called forward operational bases in several of our border towns since 2022.”
AC/Sf/fss/as/APA