This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-68651951

The article has changed 87 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 56 Version 57
Africa Live: Burkina Faso expels French diplomats - BBC News Africa Live: Burkina Faso expels French diplomats - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Burkina Faso has expelled three French diplomats for engaging in "subversive activities", the Burkinabe foreign affairs ministry said in a notice to France quoted by the AFP news agency and French broadcaster RFI. One more of the female students abducted by militants from a secondary school in north-east Nigeria a decade ago has been rescued, the army says.
The notice dated 16 April did not reveal the nature of the activities. The army said on Thursday that it had rescued the young woman, who is five months pregnant, along with her three children.
The diplomats, who include two political advisers at the French embassy in Ouagadougou, have been asked "to leave the territory of Burkina Faso within the next 48 hours”, the notice added. The abduction of the 276 girls from their school in north-eastern Nigeria in 2014 by Boko Haram militants shocked the world and sparked a global campaign to #BringBackOurGirls, which included former US First Lady Michelle Obama.
Relations between Burkina Faso and its former colonial power France have soured since Capt Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a coup in September 2022. More than 180 girls have either since escaped or been freed from Boko Haram hideouts in Sambisa forest in north-eastern Borno state.
The junta leader has pivoted Burkina Faso towards Russia, ending its close ties with former colonial power France. Some of the freed and rescued girls have returned home pregnant or with children.
Under his rule, several French diplomats have been expelled and France's military base in the country shut down. About 90 others are still missing and are suspected to still be held by the militants.
Read more on the Sahel: Read more:
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to form joint force to fight jihadists Chibok girls
Why does France have military bases in Africa? feel let down 10 years after Nigeria kidnapping
Parents of kidnapped children heartbroken - again
FacebookFacebook
TwitterTwitter
ShareView more share optionsShare this postCopy this linkRead more about these links.ShareView more share optionsShare this postCopy this linkRead more about these links.
Copy this linkCopy this link