Burkina Faso denies paying Russian mercenaries with mining rights

Ghana’s president alleged that Burkina Faso had employed Russia’s Wagner mercenaries to assist battle armed teams.

Burkina Faso’s mines minister has denied an allegation by the president of Ghana that its northern neighbour had paid Russian mercenaries by giving them the rights to a mine.

“We’ve got not granted any allow to a Russian firm in southern Burkina,” Minister of Mines Simon Pierre Boussim instructed reporters on Tuesday, after a gathering with civil society teams that have been involved concerning the allegations.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo brought about controversy by stating final week that Burkina Faso had employed mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group to assist it battle armed non-state actors.

“I consider a mine in southern Burkina has been allotted to them as a type of cost for his or her providers,” Akufo-Addo stated, chatting with reporters alongside america’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the US-Africa Summit.

Burkina Faso’s authorities has not formally confirmed or denied the allegation that it has made an settlement with Wagner, however it summoned the Ghanaian ambassador for a gathering on Friday to elucidate the president’s remarks.

“We made a listing of all of the exploitation or analysis permits for big industrial mines within the south, to allow them to see clearly that there isn’t a hidden website,” Boussim stated.

The Burkinabe authorities did just lately award a brand new exploration allow to Russian agency Nordgold for a gold mine in Yimiougou, within the centre-north area, Boussim stated, however the firm has been lively in Burkina Faso for greater than 10 years.

Burkina Faso’s neighbour Mali employed Wagner final 12 months to assist it battle armed teams within the Sahel. The prospect of the group increasing its presence in Africa has troubled Western international locations equivalent to France and america, who say it exploits mineral assets and commits human rights abuses in international locations the place it operates.