Dozens of Russian military trainers have arrived in Burkina Faso, a country facing unrest following a terrorist attack in its troubled north, according to sources on Tuesday.
Since seizing power in September 2022, the coup leaders in this West African state expelled French forces and diplomats, turning to Russia for military assistance.
An African diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed, “Two planes carrying Russian trainers arrived in Burkina Faso due to the situation.”
The flights reportedly originated from neighboring Mali, which also experienced a coup that brought military leaders with strong ties to Moscow to power.
An independent source confirmed the arrival of the trainers, a term used to refer to former fighters from the Russian mercenary group “Wagner,” now reorganized as “Africa Corps,” as reported by Agence France-Presse.
Burkina Faso has been grappling with a rebellion by terrorist insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS since 2015, resulting in thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions.
On June 11, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group attacked the northeastern Mansila region and a military unit near the Niger border. Although no official casualty figures were released, security sources believe the death toll to be significant.
The following day, a mortar shell struck the courtyard of a state-run television network’s office near the presidential residence in the capital, Ouagadougou.
On Tuesday evening, the Burkinabe army criticized what it described as “baseless rumors on social media” claiming a mutiny in some military barracks. The Cabinet is scheduled to convene on Wednesday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who visited Burkina Faso earlier this month, stated that the number of Russian military trainers there “will increase.”
He added in Ouagadougou, “At the same time, we are training representatives of the armed forces and security forces of Burkina Faso in Russia.”
