Burkina Faso expels 3 French diplomats for ‘subversive activities’

KIGALI, Rwanda

Burkina Faso expelled three French diplomats for “subversive activities,” in the latest sign of frosty bilateral relations.

The diplomats were “declared persona non grata and given 48 hours to leave the country”, the official Burkina Information Agency reported Thursday, citing a Foreign Ministry note dated Tuesday.

Last year, Burkina Faso’s military junta expelled Luc Hallade, France’s ambassador to the West African country, amid deteriorating bilateral ties.

In 2022, the military junta expelled two French citizens accused of espionage as anti-French sentiments surged.

In that year, the French Embassy in Ouagadougou was attacked twice by protesters demanding the departure of France from Burkina Faso.

The landlocked African country witnessed two coups in 2022.

In January 2022, the military overthrew elected President Roch Marc Kabore. A second coup was staged in September 2022 by angry soldiers led by Capt. Ibrahim Traore who deposed Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba amid growing insecurity.

• Burkina Faso
• French diplomats expelled