By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@Reuters.
The government in Burkina Faso has announced the appointment of a new prime-minister following the resignation of Christophe Dabire.
The new head of government is Lassina Zerbo, the former head of a top nuclear watchdog.
Facing the growing threat of jihadist insurgents, President Christian Kabore appealed for help from all.
“Our defence and security forces, as well as our volunteers for the defence of the country, need our support. This is why I am appealing to all the sons and daughters of our nation to contribute to the war effort, each according to his or her means. Our government will receive the necessary instructions for the establishment of a mechanism for the collection and transparent management of contributions”, appealed the President.
The six-year-old campaign of violence has claimed around 2,000 lives and forced 1.4 million people from their homes.
“In the face of this legitimate anger generated by the heavy human toll of terrorism, and in view of the number of internally displaced persons, I invite the people of Burkina Faso to make no mistake about their adversary or their enemy. As supreme commander of the armed forces, I will never be caught short in our common will to defeat the forces of evil that use our territory to commit the most abominable trades and crimes”, promised Kabore.
Late on Thursday, the armies of Burkina Faso and neighbouring Niger said they had killed about 100 “terrorists” in a joint military operation against armed groups on the border between November 25 and December 9.
They had also dismantled two bases, one on either side of the frontier, they said in a joint statement.
The peak of the deadly violence came on November 14 when 57 people, 53 of them police officers, were killed in the north of the country.
Kabore was first elected in 2015, a year after his predecessor Blaise Compaore, who seized power in 1987, was forced out by mass protests for seeking to change the constitution to remain in office.