The Ouagadougou government confirmed, through its spokesperson, Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo, on Monday, January 23, that it had requested the withdrawal of French soldiers from Burkina within a month.
The information was first communicated on Saturday, January 21, by the Burkinabè Information Agency (AIB), which suggested that the government had denounced, two days earlier, « the agreement which has governed since 2018 the presence of the French armed forces on its territory”, before giving, “according to the terms of the agreement of December 17, 2018, one month to the French Armed Forces to leave the territory of Burkina Faso”.
Sunday, January 22, French President Emmanuel Macron said, during a press briefing in Paris, to wait for the transitional president in Burkina, Ibrahim Traoré, “to be able to express himself” on the question.
“Because I understood that the messages that had come out at this stage were very confusing, this one being on the move outside the capital (…) So, I think we have to be very careful” and wait for “clarifications from Mr. Traoré on this subject”, explained Macron.
This Monday, the spokesperson for the Burkinabè government explained in an interview with Radio-Télévision du Burkina (RTB) that « what we are denouncing is the agreement which allows French forces to be present in Burkina Faso . This is not the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France”.
“This denunciation is in the normal order of things. It is provided for in the terms of the military agreement”, he continued, also recalling that “French forces are based in Ouagadougou at the request of Burkina Faso and its authorities”.
Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo also specified that the request for the departure of the French forces « is not linked to a particular event », but « it is linked to the will today of the authorities of the transition and the all Burkinabè, to be the primary actors in the reconquest of our territory ».
Burkina Faso is following in the footsteps of the Central African Republic and Mali, which have already demanded the departure of French troops from their territories.
By OMA Newsletter No. 1019 of 01/23/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
