Burkina Faso demands departure of French troops: Report

The military administration of Burkina Faso has mandated the departure of French troops stationed there within a month.

This latest indication of deteriorating ties between France and its former colony since a second military coup in September of last year comes from the official Agence d’Information du Burkina (AIB), which made the announcement on Saturday.
The AIB said that a military agreement from 2018 that permitted the presence of French troops in the nation was suspended on Wednesday by the military government.

No immediate response was received from Paris.

The AFP news agency was informed by a source close to the Burkinabe military that Ouagadougou was not breaking off diplomatic relations with France and that the “notice only concerns military cooperation agreements.”

Around 400 French special forces soldiers are stationed in Burkina Faso, where the country is engaged in combat with organizations linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).

The insurgency there, which had extended across the Sahel from Mali during the previous ten years, has killed thousands of civilians and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Due to concerns that France’s military presence hasn’t eased the security situation, there has been a rise in anti-French sentiment throughout the nation in recent months.

They couldn’t assist us in defeating terrorism, despite their influence at the intelligence level and their physical presence on Burkinabe land, according to famed civil society leader and reggae artist Passamde Sawadogo.

The Associated Press news agency quoted him as stating, “Therefore, it was time for us to get rid of them, and that’s what the transition administration is doing with a lot of boldness.”

On Friday, hundreds of Burkinabes participated in a protest against France in the nation’s capital, Ouagadougou, calling for the expulsion of the French ambassador and the closing of the French military station there.