Ouagadougou – A minister in Burkina Faso on Friday called a claim by Ghana’s president that the war-torn Sahel nation has invited in Russian mercenaries “very serious” amid a worsening row between the neighbours.
Burkina had earlier called in Ghana’s ambassador in protest, the foreign ministry said, while recalling its own ambassador to Accra for consultations.
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo on Wednesday accused neighbouring Burkina of striking a deal to deploy mercenaries from Moscow’s Wagner Group, calling it “particularly distressing”.
“We listened to the Ghanaian ambassador and informed him of the government’s position, that the remarks coming from a head of state are considered very seriously,” said junior minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traore.
Akufo-Addo had said: “Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces.
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“I believe a (mineral) mine in southern Burkina has been allocated to them as a form of payment for their services,” he said during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“To have them operating on our northern border is particularly distressing for us in Ghana.”
In several French-speaking African countries, Moscow has been actively courting public opinion on social media and enjoys growing popular support as France, the former colonial power, is increasingly reviled.
Ghana’s ambassador Boniface Gambila Adagbila said his president “did not intend to condemn Burkina Faso, nor to sow doubt”, according to a statement.
“The intention was above all to draw the attention of partners to incite great interest in Burkina Faso,” he was quoted as saying.
Blinken had repeated strong US objections to the Wagner Group.
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“Wherever we’ve seen Wagner deployed, countries find themselves weaker, poorer, more insecure and less independent. That’s the common denominator,” Blinken said after an Africa summit in Washington.
Several countries accuse Mali’s ruling junta of using the services of Wagner, which Bamako denies.
Rekindling ties with Russia has also been on the agenda in Burkina since a September coup, the second in eight months, which brought Captain Ibrahim Traore to power facing jihadist attacks that have haunted the country since 2015.
On Monday, Burkina Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem de Tembela met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow to discuss “the priority issues of strengthening relations”, the Russian foreign ministry said.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Unsplash
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