Russian mercenaries offer aid to Burkinabè coup leaders

A group of Russian military contractors has written to the coup leaders in Burkina Faso offering to train the West African country’s army in their fight against jihadists.

The group calling itself “Community of Officers for International Security”, which is based in the Central African Republic (CAR), published its offer in a letter the BBC has seen and verified.

It is not clear if it has been or will be accepted.

Burkina Faso is now led by a military junta that overthrew the government of President Roch Kaboré on Monday.

The offer in the letter is explicit: “If Russian instructors are invited to train the army in Burkina Faso, they can do it effectively.”

The letter, which has been verified by a Russian security adviser to the CAR presidency, also takes a swipe at the French-led offensive against extremists in the Sahel.

Despite leading the operation for over a decade, it alleges they have had “no success”, and adds that the Russian group can help the Burkinabè soldiers to “master the security situation in very little time”.

Western powers condemned the deployment of Russian mercenaries to neighbouring Mali in December, saying it could lead to a further deterioration of security.