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Burkinabe President: Ukraine-Bound Arms 'End up on Our Continent' & In Terrorists' Hands

09:00, 31 July 2023

Ammo earmarked to be delivered to Kiev end up in the hands of terrorists in Burkina Faso, the President of the Transition, Ibrahim Traore, explained to Sputnik Africa. Given the danger of the Western arms policy backfiring, Africa can however work for the return of peace in Ukraine, assured the leader.

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Western weapons shipped to Ukraine do not all end up on the Eastern Front. Some of that ammo ends up in Africa, where they are bought up by terrorists, as the President of the Transition, Ibrahim Traore, told Sputnik Africa.

These parallel circuits, fed by arms traffickers, further worsen the security dilemma in Africa, the head of state pointed out, and in particular, it aggravates the detrimental situation for Burkina Faso, which is waging its own war against terrorism.

"I saw in the media that the Ukrainian President himself had dismissed some of his relatives for acts of corruption on military equipment delivered. It means that it is not controlled, and it is found on the African continent," he explained. "Terrorists pay for equipment everywhere, especially in conflict zones, because there are arms traffickers. So that only aggravates the extent of our conflicts on the spot as well. We therefore find it very dangerous to dump these weapons in an uncontrolled way, because they end up in the hands of the enemies who kill our peoples,"

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The president stressed that the weapons intended for the east European country are affecting the security situation on the African continent.

"We are at war against terrorism, and we are more concerned about our war. What we only deplore is that weapons intended for Ukraine end up on our continent and continue to activate our war," he continued.

Africa Can Advance Peace

Indirectly affected by the conflict in Ukraine, Africa also has a role to play in advancing peace, believes Ibrahim Traore. The continent is a major international player, as demonstrated by the Russia-Africa Summit, in which the Burkinabe leader participated.

In this regard, the African peace mission, which presented its proposals to the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, is therefore moving in the right direction, the head of state stressed.

"The African continent is one of the great continents of this world. And I think a lot of African states have expressed that. Everyone wants the war to stop, to find mechanisms to stop it, and to live in peace. But everyone also has to make an effort on their side so that we can take a step," he explained.

Many observers have already deplored that weapons delivered to Kiev end up on parallel markets.

At the end of 2022, former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had denounced the proliferation of weapons in the Chad Basin, in connection with the Ukrainian conflict.

Burkina Faso is particularly vulnerable to this sort of trafficking, Russian Ambassador to Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire, Alexey Saltykov, explained to Sputnik earlier in July.