Burkina Faso severs diplomatic relations with France, citing its ‘neocolonial ambitions’
“In the face of these imperialist designs to dominate our country and subjugate our people, we have chosen the path of responsibility and sovereignty,” Burkina Faso’s communications minister, Gilbert Ouédraogo explained.
Council of Ministers meeting, Burkina Faso, June 25. Photo: Gov. of Burkina Faso/FB
The government of Burkina Faso severed its diplomatic relations with France on June 26, citing the “neocolonial ambitions” of its former colonizer, which it once again accused of supporting terror groups currently ravaging the Sahel.
The decision came just over three and a half years after Capt. Ibrahim Traoré’s government expelled all French troops and the French Ambassador from the country in January 2023, a year after the France-backed regime was ousted in a popular military coup.
In 2024, Burkina Faso expelled three other French diplomats, accused of subversive activities. Nevertheless, it had continued to maintain formal diplomatic relations until Friday, when it announced severing with immediate effect, citing France’s “active support for subversive networks and terrorists.”
Neighboring Mali and Niger, also under attack by groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, have also repeatedly insisted that the terror attacks are in fact a proxy war against their sovereignty, waged by France after its troops were expelled.
Read more: Mali defends sovereignty against a Western-backed ‘proxy war’ by terror groups
“In the face of these imperialist designs to dominate our country and subjugate our people, we have chosen the path of responsibility and sovereignty,” Burkina Faso’s communications minister, Gilbert Ouédraogo, said in the televised statement announcing the end of diplomatic relations.
“The essential conditions for fostering relations based on mutual respect, reciprocal trust, respect for the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, and national sovereignty are no longer met,” he added.
France, which denies the allegation of supporting terror groups, called the decision to sever all diplomatic ties “hostile and unfounded.”
“Necessary reciprocal measures are currently under review,” its foreign ministry spokesman, Pascal Confavreux, said, expressing concern about the safety of French nationals in Burkina Faso and calling on them to maintain heightened vigilance.
However, Ouédraogo had already assured their safety in the statement, announcing the end of diplomatic ties. “The Government wishes to emphasize that this decision in no way undermines the historic, human, cultural, and social ties that unite the Burkinabe and French peoples. It pertains exclusively to the institutional framework of relations between the two States at the diplomatic level,” he said.
Reaffirming Burkina Faso’s “hospitality” to foreign nationals and committing to ensure their safety, he called upon “all citizens to act with responsibility, restraint, and civic-mindedness toward French nationals and all expatriates living on Burkinabe soil, in strict compliance with the laws of the Republic.”
