Burkina: end of French army operations
The Burkinabè army announced on Sunday the end of the operations of the French Saber force in Burkina Faso, a few weeks after the denunciation by the transitional government of the defense agreements linking the two countries, whose relations have deteriorated in recent months. "The General Staff of the Armed Forces and the command of Task Force Saber organized on Saturday February 18, 2023 within the grounds of Camp Bila Zagré, in Kamboincin (on the outskirts of Ouagadougou), a solemn flag lowering ceremony marking the official end of Task Force operations from Burkinabe soil," the Burkinabe general staff announced in a statement.
According to the text, this ceremony was chaired by the head of the Burkinabe army, Colonel Adam Néré and French Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Lecacheur, representing the commander of the Saber force, a contingent of 400 special forces. "The disengagement of the remaining Saber equipment and materials will be finalized by a team of logisticians deployed for this purpose, according to a schedule defined in agreement with the General Staff of the Armed Forces", specifies the press release. The number of French soldiers still in Burkina was not known on Sunday evening. According to a Burkinabè security source, "a large part of the soldiers have already left". A French government source for its part indicated that French soldiers were still present in Burkina, without specifying the number.
Asked about the actual departure date of the last soldiers, a spokesman for the French army declined to communicate. In a letter dated January 18, the Burkinabè government had denounced the agreement relating to the status of French forces in the country, giving them one month to leave the country. Paris had recorded this departure a week later. "What we denounce is the agreement which allows French forces to be present in Burkina Faso. It is not about the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France", declared the door - spokesperson for the Burkinabè government, Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo.
France, a former colonial power, has been contested in Burkina for several months. While French Secretary of State Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, visiting Burkina on January 10, had hinted at a possibility of appeasement by announcing that "France imposes nothing" on Burkina, anti-French sentiment has developed in the country. The day after the announcement of the departure of the French special forces from the country, several thousand people demonstrated in the capital Ouagadougou, in support of the ruling junta and for "sovereignty".
