FRENCH HEGEMONY IN AFRICA
France Agrees to Pull Troops From Burkina Faso
On Monday, Burkina said it had decided to end a military accord that allowed French troops to fight insurgents on its territory because the government wants the country to defend itself. A notice from the Burkinabe government got to France of the termination of the 2018 agreement on the status of French armed forces present in the country. According to the terms of the accord, the termination takes effect a month after reception of written notification. And France has agreed to respect the terms of the agreement by honoring this request. About 400 French special forces are currently based in Burkina Faso in a deployment dubbed "Sabre," part of a broader military presence to fight jihadists across the Sahel region. But the country has followed a similar course to neighboring Mali, falling out with Paris after a military coup brought a junta to power and the French presence became increasingly unpopular among the public.
The Burkinabe government has assured Paris it will not follow Mali by turning to Russia's Wagner to back up its army—although a liaison team from the mercenary group has already visited. A source familiar with French military plans said that while the troops would be gone by the end of February, their equipment would be picked up by late April.This is the part that sounds a lil shady, but they most surely have their reason. Paris asked for clarification from Wagadougou's transitional president Ibrahim Traore on Monday after the government had said it was asking French forces to leave. To clarify things, following the announcement, government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Wedraogo said. "This does not mean the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France," In addition, the government has requested that Paris replace its ambassador after incumbent Luc Hallade commented publicly on the worsening security situation in the country.
The landlocked state, a former French colony, is one of the poorest and most volatile in Africa. Thousands of troops, police and civilians have been killed and about 2 million people have fled their homes since jihadists launched an insurgency from neighboring Mali in 2015. More than a third of the country lies beyond the control of the government, and frustration within the army at the mounting toll triggered two coups last year. The common thing to wonder is what promoted this action from the Burkinabe Authorities?Partly linked to perceptions that France has not done enough to tackle the Islamist militancy that has spread in recent years from neighbouring Mali. Glaser believed that the young people were calling for the withdrawal of the French soldiers on a politically nationalistic basis.
And when an Analyst on the Sahel, Abba, was asked. If the Burkinabe authorities' dismissal of Operation Sabre, is directly related to the Kremlin and the possible use of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group, he said. "No, I don't think so. The reason is the poor results in the fight against terrorism, despite the presence of Sabres on Burkinabe territory." Which is quite a logical thing, coming from the angle of you having the presence of Sabre with their impacts not being felt. Quite pointless if you see. Well in these pictures people who gathered to show their support to Burkina Faso's new military leader Ibrahim Traore, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, last week Wednesday.You see Placards that read: The French army disengaged from us.
No to France Thief of Africa.
No to the accomplices of France. Cacophony.
ECOWAS A French Institution.
And Respect the People's Choice. Amongst many more
In most cases counting down from Mali and other scenarios, the French hegemony in Africa has not been exactly to better the peoples lives, but more about continued exploitation. Having a military in a country, yet it does no good against insurgences. I guess Mali and Burkina Faso see no point in that really. Well We’ll be interested in getting to know what else happens when they get their weapons from Burkina Faso in April as said.
