Reporting for the BBC, Nicolas Négoce and Neil Murphy report that Burkina Faso’s military-led government has broken off diplomatic ties with France, accusing the European nation of persistently acting against Burkina Faso’s national interests. They report:
“Relations between Burkina Faso and its former colonial ruler worsened after Capt Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup in 2022 and pursued largely anti-Western policies.
In a televised statement on Friday, communications minister Pingdwendé Gilbert Ouédraogo said France was guilty of ‘ceaseless activism’ against his country and accused it of ‘neo-colonial ambitions’.
The French foreign ministry called the decision “hostile and unfounded” and said it ‘llustrated the troubling drift by the Burkinabe government'”.
France also urged nationals in the country “to exercise heightened vigilance”.
In 2024, Burkina Faso expelled three French diplomats, accusing them of “subversive activities”. France denied the claims.
In January 2025, Burkina Faso, along with two neighboring military-led states – Mali and Niger, officially broke away from the regional West African bloc, Ecowas, to form a new group, The Alliance of the Sahel States.
Read the entire article on the BBC.
Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire, curated this news brief. Follow The Burton Wire on Instagram @TheBurtonWire or Meta @ The Burton Wire.
