Ouagadougou - (AFP) - Burkina Faso's army announced on Sunday the end of the operations of the French "Saber" force in the country, three weeks after the transitional government denounced the defense agreements linking the two countries, in light of the continuing jihadist violence.

The Army Staff said in a statement, "The General Staff of the Armies and the Command of the Saber Force held this Saturday, February 18, 2023, at the Bella Zagreh Camp Campus in Campoisane (on the outskirts of Ouagadougou) a ceremony in which the flags were lowered in an official end to the (French) force's operations on the territory of Burkina Faso. ".

The statement added that the ceremony was chaired by the commander of the land force in the Burkina Faso army, Colonel Adam Neireh, and the French lieutenant colonel, Louis Lucachor, representing the commander of the "Saber" force, which includes 400 members of the special forces.

He explained that "the dismantling of the remaining equipment and supplies for the Saber will be completed by a logistical team deployed for this purpose, according to a specific schedule in agreement with the General Staff of the armies," without mentioning the number of French soldiers who are still in the country.

A security source in Burkina Faso said, "A large number of the soldiers have already left."

A French army spokesman was asked about the actual departure date for the last soldiers, and he did not want to comment.

For his part, a French government source reported that French soldiers are still deployed in Burkina Faso, without specifying their number.

In a letter dated January 18, the government of Burkina Faso denounced the agreement related to the status of French forces in the country, and gave them a month to leave, which was confirmed by Paris a few days later.