Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Burkina Faso marked the end of the French military operation in the country aimed at helping in the anti-jihadist fight.
Relations between Burkina Faso and France deteriorated in recent months, with senior officers from Burkinabe and French forces holding a flag-lowering ceremony to mark the end of the mission on Saturday, according to RFI reporting on Sunday.
France confirmed that it plans to withdraw its troops from Burkina Faso last month after the junta called on Paris to pull out troops in four weeks. Burkina Faso called for the withdrawal several days after Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla noted that Russia was a reasonable choice of partner in the fight against jihadists.
A government spokesman pointed out after the announcement “this does not mean the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France.”
Neighbouring Mali also called on France to end its mission there, with Paris pulling out its troops from the country in 2022, after roughly ten years. Some Western countries are concerned that the departure of French troops from West Africa strengthens Russian influence in the region.
In a statement, the Army of Burkina Faso noted that a logistics team will complete France’s military disengagement by pulling out remaining equipment and materials.
Sanctions remain in place
Also on Sunday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided to keep in place its sanctions against military-ruled Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea. The three countries were suspended from the ECOWAS in 2021 and 2022 over military coups.
Speaking at the African Union (AU) summit on Saturday, AU Commission head Moussa Faki stressed the importance of adopting new strategies to fight against the erosion of democracy.
“Sanctions imposed on member states following unconstitutional changes of government… do not seem to produce the expected results,” he observed.
The Islamic terrorist insurgency spilled over to Burkina Faso from Mali in 2015 and the country has undergone two military coups in recent years. More than two million people have been displaced and thousands killed as the government controls roughly 60% of the country.
On Friday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced it was suspending most of its operations in the country after armed men killed two MSF employees there last week.
