Mali PM urges Burkina Faso not to rely on foreign forces

The Malian prime minister urged the government of Burkina Faso not to rely on foreign armies to fight the jihadist groups present in both countries.

Speaking during a visit to Burkina's capital, Ouagadougou, the Malian PM reiterated his determination in winning the war.

"To win the war, it is with our armies. No foreign army, it must be clear, no one will come to die for us. It is the Africans who must defend ourselves, but in order for us to defend ourselves, the army must be sure that their people are with them, that they will never die for nothing", said Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga.

On Wednesday, at least a dozen army auxiliaries from the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) force were killed in an attack in northern Burkina.

A few days earlier, 70 soldiers were killed in two other attacks in the north, near Mali.

"This is a difficult period because you have made choices today that are not to everyone’s liking, so they are putting pressure on you, they are sowing doubt and it is at this moment that I believe like all great peoples, the people of Burkina Faso must stand as one" urged the Malian PM.

The Burkinabe leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power in a coup in Burkina Faso last year, obtained the departure of the French ambassador and French special forces from the Sabre mission after denouncing in mid-January the military agreements that bound the two countries.