France Recalls Burkina Faso Ambassador Ahead of Troop Withdrawal

Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re looking at France’s decision to pull its ambassador from Burkina Faso and withdraw troops within a month, Russia’s reactions to Germany sending tanks to Ukraine, and European Union ministerial discussions on migration.

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France is recalling its ambassador from Burkina Faso for consultations and has said it will withdraw its military forces from the country within a month.

“In the context of the latest developments in Burkina Faso, we have decided to recall our ambassador to Paris for consultations on the state and perspectives of our bilateral relations,” said a statement from the French foreign ministry.

The announcement to withdraw troops follows a request from Burkina Faso that France do so.

France and Burkina Faso have had an agreement since 2018 that has allowed French troops to be in Burkina Faso. France reportedly has around 400 special forces in the country to fight militants linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Late last week, residents in the country’s capital, Ouagadougou, protested, demanding their departure.

According to CNN, protests are reportedly at least partly linked to the idea that France has not done enough to tackle an Islamist insurgency that spread from Mali.

French troops left Mali last year, and Burkina Faso’s military leaders have said the country wishes to defend itself against the insurgency. And its leaders also demanded the ambassador’s removal after comments he made about the security situation in the country.

Mali, like the Central African Republic, is now reportedly working with the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group. Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said in December 2022 that Burkina Faso’s military government had also invited in Wagner mercenaries. The government called these claims “very serious” and summoned the Ghanaian ambassador.

Although Burkina Faso has denied reports that it, too, will turn to the Wagner Group, AFP reports have already shown liaison officers from Wagner in the country. Public opinion is also visibly pro-Russian; photos from the anti-France protests showed some demonstrators waving Russian flags.

Russia reacts to news of Western tanks. Russia reacted to news that Western tanks would be sent to Ukraine from Germany, the United States, and other allies by both downplaying the decision and threatening Ukraine and its allies. “The potential it gives to the Ukrainian armed forces is clearly exaggerated. Those tanks will burn just like any others,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin. The Russian Embassy in Berlin, however, called the decision to send tanks “extremely dangerous” and said it “takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation.” The Russian Embassy claimed that Germany demonstrated it was “not interested in a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis.”

EU ministers revisit how to limit migration. European Union ministers on Thursday discussed how to limit irregular immigration and increase the number of people the EU sends home. European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson described the number of “irregular arrivals” as “huge” and reportedly said, “We have a very low return rate, and I can see we can make significant progress here.” Reuters reported that Denmark, Latvia, and the Netherlands all called for more pressure on the roughly 20 countries that the European Union finds uncooperative in taking back people who arrived in Europe without permission and do not have the right to stay. Some Europeans said they were open to EU funding for border fences or barriers. Refugee rights advocates argue that the European Union is essentially trying to find ways to violate people’s right to seek asylum.

Deadly raid in Jenin. According to the Palestinian health ministry, around 20 people were seriously injured and nine people were killed, including a 61-year-old woman and a male civilian, during a raid by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Militant groups reportedly claim the other seven deaths as members, according to the BBC. The Palestinian Authority then announced that it was suspending its security cooperation with Israel. The Guardian reports that the death toll of this raid was the highest of any such single operation carried out since 2005. The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel to Israel and the West Bank as well as Egypt early next week.

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Year of the … cat? This Lunar New Year, most celebrants are ringing in the Year of the Rabbit. But as NPR reports, Vietnam is observing the Year of the Cat. The origins of this difference are “murky,” and it’s not even clear when, exactly, Vietnam switched from rabbit to cat in its version of the zodiac; indeed, the rabbit is mentioned in older Vietnamese texts. Explanations vary from linguistic differences to the theory that Vietnamese people may think of cats as pets and rabbits as food.