Ouagadougou:Burkina Faso’s government on Monday confirmed that it asked France to withdraw its troops within one month, saying this termination is foreseen in terms of the agreement.
“This termination is normal because it is foreseen in terms of the military agreement which allows the presence of French troops in Burkina Faso,” Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo, the Burkinabe government’s spokesman, told the national television (RTB) Monday.
It is up to Burkina Faso, if necessary, to request the departure of the French troops and terminate the military agreement which allows them to be stationed in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, he explained.
The spokesperson, however, assured that this termination “is not linked to a particular event,” but “it is linked only to the will of the authorities of the transition and the support of all the people of Burkina Faso.”
The decision comes at a time when the government of Burkina Faso has been facing popular demonstrations that request French troops to withdraw from the country.
Last Friday, thousands of demonstrators took to the street in Ouagadougou to demand the departure of the ambassador of France and the French troops.
The French troops are stationed in the military camp of Kamboinsin on the northeast outskirts of Ouagadougou.
