Burkina Faso severs diplomatic ties with France - BBC News

The West African country's junta accused the former colonial power of undermining its national interests.

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Capt Ibrahim Traore has been ruling Burkina Faso since seizing power in 2022

Burkina Faso's military junta has broken off diplomatic ties with France, accusing Paris of persistently acting against its national interests.

Relations between Burkina Faso and its former colonial ruler worsened after Capt Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup in 2022 and pursued largely anti-Western policies.

In a televised statement on Friday, communications minister Pingdwendé Gilbert Ouédraogo said France was guilty of "ceaseless activism" against his country and accused it of "neo-colonial ambitions".

The French foreign ministry called the decision "hostile and unfounded" and said it "illustrated the troubling drift by the Burkinabe government".