Burkina Faso’s government said it had released four French nationals it labelled as spies after talks with France mediated by Morocco.
The country’s president, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, welcomed Morocco’s diplomatic efforts. He also noted that relations between France and Burkina Faso had deteriorated in recent years.
According to France’s Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the detainees were members of the French armed forces. All four were arrested in Ouagadougou in December 2023 on charges of espionage. After two coups, the country of 20 million people expelled French troops and turned to Russia for security support.
Since then, Burkina Faso’s ruling forces joined with neighbouring countries to form the Alliance of Sahel States. The three countries of the alliance, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, are struggling to address security and humanitarian crises.
President Emmanuel Macron also thanked King Mohamed VI of Morocco for mediating the negotiations that led to the release of the four Frenchmen.
Amid France’s retreat in the Sahel, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates sought to improve security and trade co-operation in the region.
