Burkina 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.