(Bloomberg) -- Burkina Faso released four French nationals, who were accused of spying and detained for over a year after Morocco intervened, the country’s state news agency said on Thursday.
The West African nation’s military leader Ibrahim Traoré agreed to their release after meditation efforts by King Mohammed VI, Agence d’Information du Burkina said on its website.
His mediation follows a reset in ties between Morocco and France that aims among others to shore up French security interests in the Sahel. Morocco has struck economic and defense agreements with some Sahel countries including Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad.
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Emmanuel Macron spoke with King Mohammed VI over the phone to “thank him for the success of the mediation, which made the release possible,” the Élysée said in a statement.
Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have all severed military ties with former colonial power France and moved closer to Turkey and Russia following coups in recent years.
The French officials were arrested in the capital Ouagadougou in December 2023 and accused of working for the French intelligence agency.
--With assistance from Ania Nussbaum.
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