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Burkina Faso’s military junta has expelled the French ambassador, officials said Monday.
Government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo confirmed to the Associated Press that Ambassador Luc Hallard had been asked to leave, but gave no further details. The French Embassy declined to comment.
Hallard’s expulsion comes less than two weeks after Barbara Manzi, the UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator in Burkina Faso, was also declared persona non grata.
Burkina Faso has been ravaged by violence linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group, killing thousands and displacing nearly two million from their homes.
The current military government last year overthrew the previous military government, claiming it had not taken sufficient steps to stop the fighting. The previous military government cited the same reasons it seized power from a civilian government a few months earlier.
Anti-French sentiment has been on the rise in the former French colony since Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the leader of the new military government, took power in September. Traoré was more open to working with other countries, especially Russia. Last month, Burkinanese Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kilem de Tamberra visited Russia to strengthen ties and step up efforts to combat militants in the region, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
France sent troops to West Africa’s Sahel region in 2013 when it helped oust Islamist militants from power in northern Mali, but has faced mounting backlash from local governments. French troops left Mali last year after relations soured. France still has hundreds of special forces stationed in Burkina Faso.
Hallade’s expulsion came a year after Mali’s military government expelled the French ambassador to the country.
Burkina Faso’s military leaders have made restoring security a top priority, but militant attacks continue and escalate.
At least 10 people were killed when a bus hit a roadside bomb in the east last week. Jihadists have besieged the city, preventing people from moving freely, creating a humanitarian crisis that is driving tens of thousands of people into starvation.
Analysts said the expulsion of the French ambassador was not surprising as the military government is following in Mali’s footsteps.The question is whether Russia will expand its influence in the region
“This will clearly sharpen the polarization (of West African countries) between those states that oppose the policies of the junta and those that want to transition to democracy. Think tanks.
***AP***
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