Ouagadougou: Authorities in Burkina Faso have expelled French military attaché Emmanuel Pasquier and his staff from the country for alleged involvement in subversive activities, Western media reported on Friday.
The authorities stated the French mission’s activities were against the state’s foundations. The attaché and his assistants were given two weeks to leave the African country.
Meanwhile, Burkina Faso shut down its military mission in France, meaning the country has no intention to maintain ties with Paris in the military sphere. Earlier neighbouring Niger opposed the presence of the French military troops in the country.
In West Africa, anti-French sentiment is growing fast. France is rapidly losing influence on the African continent.
Burkina Faso is fighting a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighbouring Mali since 2015. More than 17,000 civilians and troops have been killed in jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, according to data prepared by an NGO monitor called the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
Over two million people have been displaced within the country, making it one of Africa’s biggest internal displacement problems.
