France may withdraw its special military forces from Burkina Faso's capital

France may withdraw its special military forces stationed at a base in the Burkinabe capital of Ouagadougou over stalled defense cooperation, a French newspaper said on Saturday, citing sources, Report informs via Sputnik.

The paper said that France was reviewing the issue of future military cooperation with Burkina Faso, with the base in Ouagadougou, where the French military has been deployed since 2011, being on agenda of the discussions.

The newspaper reported that despite the increasing number of jihadist attacks, from which Burkina Faso has been seeking protection by deploying French troops, both countries' cooperation on the defense agreement has come to a deadlock.

Meanwhile, the office of French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu has not confirmed the information in media reports that Paris made a decision to pull out the troops in February, 2023, saying that the French side has not decided on the matter yet, according to the paper.

The newspaper added that while the Kambuanse military base was one of the gathering places for demonstrators who supported the coup participants in late September 2022, the new Burkinabe authorities received proposals on changing the format and conditions of the military cooperation.