Rwandan President Paul Kagame met, Saturday, April 15, in Cotonou, his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon, to whom he promised military support against the jihadists overflowing on its northern border from Burkina Faso.
Authorities in Burkina are failing to contain a jihadist insurgency that is gaining ground just beyond the northern borders of four West African coastal countries: Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Benin had already announced in 2022 that it was in talks about military and logistical cooperation with Rwanda, whose troops have already been deployed by Mr. Kagame to fight insurgencies in Mozambique and the Central African Republic.
“We are ready to work with Benin to prevent anything that may happen in the area around its borders”declared Saturday in Cotonou the Rwandan president, during a press conference with Mr. Talon. “There will be no limit” in what “will be accomplished together for the necessary security challenges”he assured.
“Joint Deployment”
“We will go as far as possible if necessary (…) Benin is facing insecurity coming down from the Sahel and the threat is real in northern Benin”explained the Beninese president.
Mr. Talon indicated that this cooperation would focus in particular on“supervision, coaching, training” and the “joint deployment” of troops, without giving further details.
The withdrawal of the French army from Mali due to rising tensions with the ruling junta and instability in Burkina Faso have prompted Westerners to refocus their aid on the coastal countries of the Gulf of Guinea to prevent the southward spread of jihadist attacks that bloody the Sahel.
Benin, Togo and Ivory Coast have already suffered attacks in border regions they have attributed to jihadists, while Ghana has recently increased its military presence along its northern border.