Burkina Faso’s military government announced on Tuesday the arrest of eight individuals affiliated with a humanitarian organisation, including three European nationals, accusing them of espionage and treason.
According to the country’s Security Minister, Mahamadou Sana, the detained individuals are members of the International NGO Safety Organisation, a Netherlands-based organisation that supports humanitarian operations by providing security-related analysis.
The group includes a French citizen, a French-Senegalese woman, a Czech national, a Malian, and four Burkinabe nationals.
Sana stated that among those arrested are the NGO’s country director and his deputy.
He added that the director had previously been detained in late July after the organisation was suspended for three months over allegations of gathering sensitive data without authorisation.
He accused the organisation of transmitting information that could harm Burkina Faso’s national security.
“The NGO collected and passed on sensitive security information that could be detrimental to national security and the interests of Burkina Faso, to foreign powers,” Sana said.
Despite the suspension order issued on July 31, Sana claimed some members continued operations in secret. “Some members continued to clandestinely or covertly conduct activities such as information collection and meetings in person or online,” he alleged.
INSO, headquartered in The Hague, supports NGOs by providing independent analysis of security environments in conflict zones. Its operations were officially halted in Burkina Faso following the government’s decision earlier this year.
Since seizing power in a September 2022 coup, the military-led government in Ouagadougou has distanced itself from Western influence, particularly from France, the country’s former colonial ruler.
Authorities have also come under scrutiny for cracking down on civil society groups and media, often citing the need to maintain internal stability as the country continues its fight against a long-running jihadist insurgency.
