Burkina Faso Severs Ties With France in Deepening Sahel Break From the West

Burkina Faso has cut diplomatic ties with France, its former colonial ruler, Africanews reported. The military government led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, in power since a 2022 coup, accused Paris of repeatedly acting against the country's interests.

The decision was announced on national television on June 26. Al Jazeera and France 24 reported that the junta accused France of harboring neocolonial ambitions and of supporting what it called subversive networks and armed groups responsible for violence in the country and across the Sahel. Paris has rejected such accusations in the past. The government statement said the break concerns only state-to-state diplomatic relations and that French nationals in Burkina Faso would continue to be protected under the law.

The move places Burkina Faso alongside Mali and Niger, neighboring states whose military governments have also distanced themselves from France and deepened ties with Russia. Together they form a bloc that is steadily reducing Western political and economic influence in the region.