Four suspected French spies arrested in Burkina Faso
Four French nationals accused of espionage have been arrested in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. The suspected spies were reportedly agents of the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE).
The four were said to have entered the country to carry out a computer maintenance operation for the French embassy.
The arrest by Burkina Faso police which happened earlier this month on December 1 is currently being investigated, a Burkinabè source revealed to local news outlet Aouaga.
“We are in the process of verifying the real field work of four French nationals presented as agents of the DGSE (External Intelligence, editor’s note). They are currently before the investigators,” a Burkinabè source told Aouga.
According to the report, the accused persons are known to their colleagues in Burkina Faso. Togo is also trying to help resolve the issue, the report further said.
This comes following tensions between France and Burkina Faso in recent times. The country under the leadership of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, interim transition leader denounced a 1961 military agreement with France in March leading to the withdrawal of French troops, removal of French as an official language among other things.
