A French exit

Betty Henderson

FRANCE has committed to withdrawing its troops from Burkina Faso after military leaders demanded them to leave. The French Foreign Ministry released a statement on Wednesday, January 25 that a previous military deal from 2018 had expired and it would withdraw troops within one month.

France currently has between 200 and 400 special forces troops in the Western African nation and its former colony, Burkina Faso. The Sahel region of Western Africa is seeing an increase in violence from armed groups and Burkina Faso wants to reduce the presence of militia groups in its country.

Armed groups linked with al­Qaeda and ISIS began a military offensive in 2015, sending fighters into already poverty­stricken Burkina Faso from neighbouring Mali. But now, the country’s government said that it wants to defend itself against armed groups on its territory and does not require assistance from France. The French presence in Burkina Faso has long been the subject of protests in Burkina Faso as the French troops have not taken any decisive action to defend against the violence. French troops could be moved to another part of Africa, such as Niger.

THE brains behind The Written Word Group and author of The Old Man of Tiritiri Matangi, Berni Albrighton, has shared an insight into her inspirations.

“On a warm summer evening in 2008, I was nearing 50 and had been married to my husband, Steve, for 20 years. We sat playing music, drinking wine and having an intense conversation about life.”

One of us asked: “Will we always live here in the UK?”

It was the catalyst for events that saw the author leave her home, husband, teenage son and dog to take up a managerial position in Auckland, New Zealand.

Berni added: “Steve and my son agreed that I would go and lay the foundations of a new life for us, they would follow in a few months. No one knew the timing could be