The Chadian presidency has officially denied reports that Burkina Faso’s transitional leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, requested the deployment of Chadian troops to support his country’s security operations.
“Ibrahim Traoré did not ask Chad to send a contingent of more than 200 soldiers to bolster his security apparatus,” said Hassan Abdelkerim Bouyebri, Director General of Communications at the Chadian presidency, in a statement to Alwihda Info. He labeled the claim as “false information,” clarifying that the matter “was never discussed between the two presidents.”
The clarification comes amid growing speculation sparked by a report from Le Monde Afrique, which claimed that Traoré sought military backing from Chad in the wake of a wave of arrests targeting officers suspected of plotting against the regime. On Wednesday, a member of the Burkinabè government had already dismissed the allegations as “manipulation” spread by certain media outlets.
It’s worth noting that Le Monde has been suspended in Burkina Faso since April 2024.