Burkina Faso severs diplomatic ties with France

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Burkina Faso severs diplomatic ties with FranceImage source, ReutersImage caption, Capt Ibrahim Traore has been ruling Burkina Faso since seizing power in 2022ByNicolas Négoce, West Africa correspondent and Neil MurphyPublished13 minutes agoBurkina Faso's military junta has broken off diplomatic ties with France, accusing Paris of persistently acting against its national interests. 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 "illustrated the troubling drift by the Burkinabe government". France also urged nationals in the country "to exercise heightened vigilance". Burkina Faso, like its neighbour Mali, has been battling an Islamist insurgency for over a decade, often alongside French forces deployed in the region.

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Soon after he took power, Capt Traoré expelled French troops. His government has accused France of having a "secret agenda" and pivoted towards China and Russia. The latest Burkinabe statement says conditions for mutual respect no longer exist between the two countries.

It alleges French support for "subversive networks and an intent to marginalise" Burkina Faso on the international stage. The statement adds that the decision to sever ties "concerns exclusively the institutional framework of relations" but "in no way calls into question the historical, human, cultural and social ties that unite the Burkinabe and French peoples". The junta pledged to restore democracy in 2024, but reneged on this promise and formally dissolved political parties in January this year.

In January 2025, Burkina Faso, along with two neighbouring 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. France has had no ambassador in Burkina Faso since January 2023. In 2024, the country expelled three French diplomats, accusing them of "subersive activities".

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.