Burkina Faso’s interim President Ibrahim Traore has assured U.S. diplomats that he has no intention of inviting Russian Wagner forces to fight militants in the country, U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said on Wednesday. “We had a chance to sit with interim President Traore and his leadership team, including his defence minister. He was unequivocal in saying that only Burkinabe will defend their country. They have no intention of inviting Wagner,” she said at a digital media briefing. (https://news.yahoo.com/burkina-faso-not-planning-hire-164211714.html) There has been concern that Burkina Faso might follow the lead of neighbouring Mali, which late last year hired mercenary fighters from Russia’s Wagner group to help its army fight Islamist insurgents. Security has deteriorated since Wagner entered Mali, rights abuses have been reported and United Nations peacekeepers have been squeezed out, said Nuland, who has just returned to the United States from a West Africa tour.