A brief press release from French diplomacy announced, on Sunday August 6, the suspension of all development aid and budget support actions in the direction of Burkina Faso, and this “until further notice”.
A decision which is not a surprise given the relations between Paris and Ouagadougou since the coming to power of Captain Ibrahim Traoré who overthrew the regime of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in September 2022.
But the measure comes in a context where a new member state of ECOWAS, Niger, is extending the list of countries led by the military, made up of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
While the West African organization took sanctions against Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso not only refused to align themselves with sub-regional measures, but also threatened to fight alongside Niger in case a military operation would be launched against Niger.
In a press release read Sunday evening on national television, the CNSP (National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland), set up by the putschists, said that it had « concordant information » allowing it to affirm that « the forces of a foreign power are preparing to attack Niger and its people in coordination with ECOWAS » and that « two Central African countries » would serve as a basis for a « pre-deployment » of a military operation against Niger.
This Sunday, nearly 30,000 people gathered at the General Seyni Kountché stadium, the largest stadium in the capital Niamey, in support of the military.
Niger has decided to close its airspace from August 06 “until further notice”, “in the face of the threat of intervention which is becoming clearer”. The one-week deadline given to the Nigerien junta to restore constitutional order expired Sunday at midnight, knowing that within ECOWAS the initiative to attack Niger is not unanimous.
France openly supports ECOWAS in its efforts to restore ousted President Moahmed Bazoum to office.
According to French diplomacy, the projects in Burkina, which currently benefit from French development aid, represent 482 million euros, while the budgetary aid programmed in 2022 amounts to 13 million.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1279 of 07/08/2023
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
