Burkina Faso releases four French agents following Moroccan mediation

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals who had been detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been released after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to an earlier statement made by the head of France’s foreign intelligence service, the DGSE. A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

Following a series of actions, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, in October after three years of tensions between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed area of Western Sahara.

Morocco promises Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahelian nations access to international trade via the Atlantic, and the two countries maintain positive relations.

However, there is still tension between France and its former colonies in Burkina Faso and other parts of West and Central Africa. Ouagadougou has suspended certain French media, ordered the departure of France’s defense attaché and ambassador, and expelled French troops and diplomats.

As it attempts to handle a security crisis brought on by extremists connected to Al Qaeda and Islamic State, Burkina Faso, which is governed by a military junta that took power in a coup in 2022, has come under fire from international rights organizations for suppressing free expression and harassing dissidents.