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PoliticsBurkina Faso

France to 'respect' Burkina Faso's request and pull troops

January 25, 2023

Burkina Faso had asked France to withdraw its troops from the West African country within a month. French forces were in Burkina Faso to fight insurgents.

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Protesters in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, hold banners against France and the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS
French presence is increasingly unpopular among the public in Burkina Faso and neighboring MaliImage: Kilaye Bationo/AP/picture alliance

France's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday confirmed that French troops would leave Burkina Faso within a month following a request from the West African nation. 

Burkina Faso, which has been facing an Islamist insurgency by groups linked to the so-called Islamic State and al-Qaeda, ended a military agreement that allowed a French mission to battle jihadists on its territory.

"On Tuesday, January 24, we formally received the denunciation, by the Burkinabe government, of the 2018 agreement relating to the status of the French forces present in this country," the French Foreign Ministry said.

"According to the terms of the accord, the termination takes effect a month after reception of written notification. We will respect the terms of the agreement by honoring this request," it added.

The French AFP news agency reported that troops would leave Burkina Faso by the end of February, but their equipment would be picked up by late April.

Falling out with France 

Some 400 members of France's special forces have been in Burkina Faso under a mission dubbed Operation Sabre, which was formalized in 2018.

Public anger over the presence of French troops has grown in Western African countries like Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali. 

Former colonizer France pulled out its forces from Mali last year after the military junta in Bamako agreed a deal with Russia's private Wagner Group mercenaries to back up its army.

Burkina Faso's government, however, has assured France that it would not turn to Wagner — but a liaison team from the mercenary group has already visited.

fb/nm (AFP, Reuters)