The French Chief of the Defence Staff, General Thierry Burkhard, recently admitted for the first time the presence of French military soldiers in Guinea.
The revelation was made by a Deputy of the French National Assembly, Aurélien Saintoul, who questioned Gen. Burkhard during a closed-door hearing of the army general.
Saintoul revealed on his X account that Burkhard said: “There could be ‘operational deployments’ in Guinée.”
This comes after recent reports that France was building a large military base in Kourémalé, Guinea, which is close to the border with Mali.
Mali, together with fellow members of Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Burkina Faso and Niger, have severed diplomatic and military ties with France, leading to the evacuation of French forces in AES member states. The recent construction of a military base in Guinea has therefore been speculated to be an attempt of France to monitor and influence the situation in Mali, a country faced with terrorism.
In July, Burkinabe Head of State, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, criticised Côte d’Ivoire for its close ties with France and accused the Benin Republic of hosting French military bases that he claimed were platforms for terrorist operations against Burkina Faso. Côte d’Ivoire and Benin Republic are neighbouring countries with Burkina Faso.
These accusations by Traoré were however denied by the governments of France and Benin Republic.
Furthermore, the Nigerien Head of State, General Abdourahamane Tiani, alleged last month that France has repositioned agents of the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) in Nigeria and the Benin Republic to spy on Niger. He accused France of trying to destabilise Niger.
DGSE is France’s foreign intelligence agency.
Read More: French Intelligence Agents Repositioned in Nigeria, Benin – Niger Military Leader
Traoré Accuses Côte d’Ivoire, Benin Of Destabilising Burkina Faso
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