 |
| Burkina Faso leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore |
PARIS, France
France has suspended its
development aid and budget support to Burkina Faso, according to a statement by
the Foreign Ministry issued Sunday.
The brief statement did not
give the reasons for the aid cut.
But the announcement came days
after Burkina Faso and Mali, both with military rulers, declared their strong
backing for the junta that deposed Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum in a
military coup last month, a split from the position of the Economic Community
of West African State (ECOWAS), which gave the coup leaders a seven-day
deadline to reinstate Bazoum or they would consider forceful means.
France’s development aid to
Ouagadougou is said to be estimated at €482 million ($530 million), while
budget support for 2022 amounted to €13 million.
The two West African
countries, which border Niger, declared that they would consider any military
intervention in Niger a “declaration of war.”
On Sunday, as the ECOWAS
deadline expired, there was uncertainty over whether the West African bloc
would go ahead with a military intervention.
But on Saturday, as the
deadline drew closer, France's Foreign Ministry announced its “firm and
resolute” support for efforts by ECOWAS to reinstate Bazoum.
President Bazoum was detained
by members of the Presidential Guard on July 26, who later that evening
announced the takeover of the government.
Two days later, General
Abdourahmane Tchiani, the commander of Niger's Presidential Guard, declared
himself the head of a transitional government.
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