BURKINA FASO

Burkina Faso was announced led by France in the country.

France signed a military agreement with Burkina Faso in 2018 to achieve stability against the threat of Islamist militant groups.

France signed a series of similar agreements with other West African nations, including Mali and terminated the operation in late 2022.

For Paris, the military governments in West Africa pose multiple challenges.
In February 2022, while announcing the withdrawal of France and its allies from Mali, French President Emmanuel Macron said, "Victory against terror is not possible if it is not supported by the state itself".
France has also been critical of Russian inroads into Africa.
It has accused the Russian Private military company Wagner Group of working closely with the military governments in West Africa.
On January 23, Burkina Faso's military government announced its decision to end the military agreement with France and called on Paris to withdraw its troops within a month.
The military government and the country wanted themselves to be the prime actors in the recapture of our territory which was controlled by Islamist militant groups.
On January 26, France agreed to withdraw its troops from Burkina Faso.

France was asked to withdraw its troops from Burkina Faso Months after it pulled out its troops from Mali.
The primary reason behind the withdrawal is the failure of its counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel region against Islamist groups.
Islamist insurgency has surged since 2015 and fuelled two coups in Burkina Faso last year.
The violence linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups has killed thousands and forced more than two million to flee their homes in the country.
Secondly, as Islamist insurgency kept intensifying, France's military presence in Burkina Faso came under scrutiny.
After the second coup in September 2022, anti-France protests increased in Burkina Faso with demonstrators demanding French withdrawal from the country.
There was also an increasing pro-Russia sentiment. And finally, the ruling military junta of Burkina Faso was looking beyond its traditional allies for support in its counterinsurgency campaign.
Dissatisfaction with the French approach has made other actors including Russia and China more preferable partners to fight insurgency.

Russia's engagements in Africa have been under scrutiny for a few years, especially after the resurgence of military governments in West Africa since 2020.
Following Ouagadougou's announcement of the termination of France operations, Burkinabe Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela termed Russia "a reasonable Choice".
Simultaneously, Moscow has been courting African countries; in 2023 alone Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited seven countries in Africa: Angola, Eswatini, South Africa, Eritrea, Mali, Sudan and Mauritania.

Image Source: BBC

5. About Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso has suffered chronic instability since gaining independence from Frech in 1960, including several coups.
It is a Landlocked Country and one of West Africa's poorest countries despite being a gold producer and has experienced numerous coups since independence from France in 1960.
The country's name, meaning "Land of the Honest men", was picked by revolutionary military officer Thomas Sankara who took power in 1983. He was topped and killed in 1987.
Since 2015, the country has been fighting an Islamist insurgency that spilt over from neighbouring Mali.
This has fuelled anger in the military and damaged the once-important tourist industry.
Islamist militants control swathes of Burkina Faso's territory and have forced residents in some areas to abide by their harsh version of Islamic law, while the military's struggle to quell the insurgency has drained scarce national resources.

Paris has accepted the military government's decision which marks a significant change in its West Africa approach.
In Burkina Faso, in the absence of France's troops, the alleged Russian mercenaries may fill the security void, as part of its bid to enhance military engagements in the continent.
However, the new developments are unlikely to address the insurgency and the consequent insecurity.

For Prelims: Burkina Faso, France, Russia,

Source: The Hindu

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