The transitional government believes that France is part of the security problem that Burkina Faso has been experiencing for the past 8 years, according to the government.

“We are increasingly convinced that France is part of our problem,” said Burkina Faso government spokesman Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo Thursday evening, according to the Burkina news agency (AIB).

The minister was responding to comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron, who told Le Point that without the Serval and then Barkhane operations, there would probably be no more Mali and Burkina Faso, and perhaps no more Niger.

“We are curious to know more about the results of the commitment of French forces, which would have allowed Burkina Faso to continue to exist,” he noted.

At the end of March, Burkina Faso demanded and obtained the withdrawal of the French Sabre Special Forces from its territory, convinced that it could only win the fight against terrorism by relying on the local population and the support of “sincere partners.”

Ouagadougou has followed in the footsteps of Bamako, which in 2022 denounced its defense agreements with Paris before ensuring the departure of the forces of Operation Barkhane, since redeployed in Niger under the name of French Forces in the Sahel.  In Niamey, the new authorities also demanded the withdrawal of the French troops from their territory.