Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo have mounted a joint military operation to counter increased attacks by Islamist insurgent groups in parts of West Africa, Burkinabe Security Minister Maxime Kone said on Tuesday.
Over 5,700 troops were deployed in the borderlands between Burkina Faso and the other three countries under a security cooperation deal the countries agreed in 2017 to prevent jihadist violence spreading from the Sahel region.
The five-day operation led to the arrest of over 300 suspects and the seizure of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, drugs and a large amount of material to make improvised bombs, Kone told a news conference.
Groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have expanded their reach in the Sahel region in recent years, destabilising Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. They have made occasional invasions south, including into Ivory Coast and Togo.
