Burkina Faso’s military regime has told France it wants its troops stationed in the country to leave within a month, state news agency AIB reported on Saturday.
“Last Wednesday, the government of Burkina terminated the agreement governing the presence of French forces on its territory since 2018,” the AIB said, adding that it had given France a month to complete its withdrawal.
A source close to the government said authorities had called for “the departure of French soldiers within a short period of time”.
France has stationed 400 Special Forces soldiers in Burkina to fight an Islamist insurgency, but relations between Paris and Ouagadougou have deteriorated in recent months.
The country is run by a military junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power last September.
French troops withdrew from Mali last year following a 2020 coup in the former French colony that brought its rulers closer to Russia.
Burkina Faso, also formerly under French rule, saw officials seize power in September in the second coup in eight months. Closer ties with Russia have been the order of the day in Burkina Faso since the coup.
Source: DN
