A day after succumbing to the ruling junta’s demands, France announced on Thursday that it was removing its ambassador from Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso was a former French colony in the Sahel region of Africa.
The foreign ministry stated, “In light of the most recent developments in Burkina Faso, we have decided to recall our ambassador to Paris for discussions on the status and prospects of our bilateral relations.”
Burkina Faso announced on Monday that it had requested that France evacuate its 400-strong contingent of troops currently stationed there within a month. On Wednesday, Paris agreed to do so.
It was the most recent step France took to reduce its military presence in Africa. It came after the junta in neighboring Mali also asked French forces to leave, and after President Emmanuel Macron ended a mission that had been going on for more than a decade to fight jihadists.
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Following a military coup that installed a junta in control and with the French presence growing more unpopular with the populace, Mali and Burkina Faso severed ties with Paris.
Jihadist activity is still going on in the area, but there is growing worry about Russia’s growing power, especially since mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a company run by a Putin supporter, have been sent there.
One of the most impoverished and unstable nations in Africa is Burkina Faso.
Since Islamists from nearby Mali began an uprising in 2015, thousands of soldiers, police officers, and civilians have died, and around two million people have left their homes.
The government cannot control more than a third of the nation, and anger within the army at the rising death toll sparked two coups last year.
