Burkina Faso releases four French nationals after detaining them for a year

Burkina Faso’s junta-led government said Thursday that it had released four French nationals it called spies, following Morocco-mediated negotiations with France.

The West African nation’s information agency said in a statement that Capt. Ibrahim Traore, the country’s president, welcomed Morocco’s diplomatic efforts and noted that France and Burkina Faso’s relations had soured in recent years.

In a post on X Thursday, France’s Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu described the detainees as French armed forces members.

The four were arrested in Ouagadougou in December 2023 on what Jeune Afrique and French media reported as espionage-related charges. Their detention came at a low point in France’s relations with its former colonies in the Sahel, including Burkina Faso. After two coups, the landlocked nation of 20 million people expelled French forces and turned to Russia for security support.

The ruling junta has since joined forces with neighbouring countries to form the Alliance of Sahel States. The alliance’s three countries — Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — have each struggled to contain the security and humanitarian crises.

France’s Elysee Palace said in a statement that President Emmanuel Macron had thanked Morocco’s King Mohamed VI for mediating discussions that led to their release.

Morocco, which has made efforts to expand its role in the Sahel, lauded its own role in mediating between the two countries. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the negotiations a “humanitarian initiative.”

Amid France’s retreat in the Sahel, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have each sought to expand security and trade partnerships in the region. Morocco has also aspired to play a larger role as a diplomatic mediator and economic partner, launching new initiatives to deepen ties and build infrastructure giving landlocked nations new gateways to access the Atlantic Ocean.

Morocco has also deepened its ties to France since July when Paris shifted its stance and backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara.