The head of the military junta in power in Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, displayed on Tuesday February 21 his “
intact determination
” to fight the jihadists despite the ambush which killed at least 51 soldiers the day before in the North.
“
Our army was the victim of a large-scale attack
” in the Sahel region, notes Captain Traoré, transitional president of the country resulting from a coup, in a message published overnight from Monday to Tuesday. .
“Our determination remains intact”
"
Despite the vigorous resistance and response by our fighting forces, we are recording loss of life
," he added.
“
The fight is bitter
” and “
the fight is strewn with pitfalls
”, recognizes Captain Traoré.
“
But our patriotic outburst and our determination remain intact until the final victory
” against the jihadist groups, he assures.
"
In this difficult ordeal, I express, on my own behalf and that of the government, the compassion of the entire Nation to all of our national fighting forces and to the families of the victims," he
wrote.
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According to a "
provisional report
" published by the Burkinabe army on Monday, at least 51 soldiers were killed on Friday during an ambush by suspected jihadists between Deou and Orsi in northern Burkina Faso.
This country, the scene of two military coups in 2022, has been caught since 2015 in a spiral of jihadist violence that appeared in Mali and Niger a few years earlier and which has spread beyond their borders.
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The violence has left more than 10,000 dead, civilians and soldiers, over the past seven years, according to NGOs, and some two million displaced.
Shortly after taking power in a putsch on September 30, 2022, Captain Traoré set himself the goal of "
reclaiming
" the approximately 40% of Burkinabe territory controlled by jihadist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. .