Mali, Burkina Faso pledge to jointly wage war on terrorism

Mali and Burkina Faso agreed Wednesday to jointly confront terrorism and strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the areas of security and defense, Burkina Faso leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré told media as he visited his Malian counterpart Assimi Goita.

“The most important thing for us in the current situation is the security challenge, so with these people, we came to discuss how to strengthen our military cooperation and better conduct our operations and secure the population. This is the main objective of the visit,” Traore told media after meeting Goita.

“We have decided to strengthen our bilateral cooperation in security and defense,” he added.

The leader of transition arrived in Bamako Wednesday for one-day visit and his office said that the trip, his first since ascending to power in September following a coup, aims to intensify the armed struggle against terrorist groups that plague both nations and to strengthen the Ouagadougou-Bamako axis.

Last month a national dialogue vested Traore with power and made him leader of the transition for 24 months.
Both Mali and Burkina Faso are dogged by terror and armed groups’ activities.