Armed groups currently control 30% of Burkina Faso’s land, according to the country’s transitional leader
Burkina Faso’s interim president, Ibrahim Traore, has vowed to recapture all the country’s territory still under terrorist control by 2025. The West African nation has been battling jihadist groups since 2015, including some affiliated with al-Qaeda.
Capt. Traore announced the target date during an interview with national broadcaster RTB on Saturday, marking his second anniversary as Burkina Faso’s military ruler after ousting interim President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba in a September 2022 coup.
The transitional leader said his government has recruited more than 30,000 people into the army as part of a commitment to defeat rebel groups and retake the territories they occupy.
“The intensity of the offensives has decreased due to the rainy season and we will resume them very soon. The year 2025 is crucial and we will conquer the…