Burkina Faso expels three French diplomats accused of 'subversive activities'

The three were declared "persona non grata" and told to leave the country within 48 hours, the foreign ministry said in a note dated Tuesday that was sent to the French embassy. 

Since coming to power in a September 2022 coup, the junta has distanced the West African nation from France, which ruled the country until 1960. It has notably cancelled a 1961 military accord between the two countries.

The French ambassador was recalled after the coup and is yet to return to Ouagadougou, the Burkinabe capital.

France said Thursday there were "no legitimate grounds" for Burkina Faso to expel three of its diplomats this week, as tensions increase between the European nation and its former colony.

"There were no legitimate grounds for the Burkinabe authorities' decision. We can only deplore it," French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said

On December 1, four French officials were arrested, charged and imprisoned in Ouagadougou, according to a French source.

The Burkinabe authorities said they were intelligence agents but the French source said they were IT support staff.

The four are now under house arrest, according to Burkina security sources.

In December 2022, Ouagadougou expelled two French nationals working for a Burkina Faso company for alleged espionage.

France has ended anti-jihadist military missions in Mali and Burkina Faso and more recently began to withdraw forces from Niger – all three countries where juntas are now ruling after coups.

Burkina Faso has increasingly turned to Russia, Mali and Niger for security assistance. 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)