Burkina Faso expels 2 French citizens says state broadcaster

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Burkina Faso’s state broadcaster says the government has expelled two French nationals accusing them of espionage. According to a Facebook post by Radio and Television of Burkina, the French citizens were detained last weekend and forced to leave the West African nation. France, which has had troops in the region since 2013 when it helped drive Islamic extremists from power in northern Mali, is facing growing pushback from governments and populations who say its presence has yielded little results in containing escalating jihadi violence. French forces left Mali this year after relations with Mali’s junta frayed and more recently its relationship with Burkina Faso has also been deteriorating.