The junta in Ouagadougou has confirmed its request for French troops based in the country to leave within a month but emphasised that this by no means signals an end to diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and its former colonial power France.
In response to French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he was waiting for “clarifications” from junta head Ibrahim Traore, the Burkinabe government spokesman said on national television on Monday that “there is no further clarification to be made”.
“What we are denouncing today is the agreement that allows French forces to remain in Burkina Faso. Beyond that, it is not the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France”, said spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo.
For him, the January 2015 agreement is clear enough and there is no reason for the French not to respect the terms of an agreement they had signed.
Responding to fears that the activities of jihadist groups will intensify after the departure of French soldiers, he assured citizens that this “will not leave any vacuum”.
He said the country “counts on its own means” to win the fight against terrorism.
“The vision of the transition today is that it is the Burkinabè themselves who will make the sacrifices for the liberation and re-conquest of our territory and especially for the rebirth” said Ouédraogo.
The country, faced with terrorism since 2015, has decided to look for other partnerships, informing increasing rapprochement with Moscow and a coldi shoulder towards Paris, which it accuses of connivance with non-state armed groups.
DS/ac/lb/as/APA