Burkina Faso's military junta arrests European NGO workers for 'spying'

Burkina Faso's military junta has arrested eight members of a humanitarian group on suspicion of "spying and treason", accusations the Dutch NGO categorically rejected.

The West African nation's Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said on Tuesday that the eight people worked for the Netherlands-based International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), which specialises in humanitarian safety.

Those arrested include Czech, French, Malian and Burkinabe citizens, according to Sana.

The NGO was suspended from operation at the end of July for three months for "collecting sensitive data without authorisation", the security minister said. INSO's country director was taken from the group's office and detained at that time.

Following the suspension, Sana alleged that some of the NGO's employees "continued to clandestinely or covertly conduct activities such as information collection and meetings in person or online".

The staff members had "collected and passed on sensitive security information that could be detrimental to national security and the interests of Burkina Faso, to foreign powers", Sana added.

Later on Tuesday, INSO issued a statement in which it strongly rejected the "extremely concerning" allegations about its activities in Burkina Faso. The organisation said the information it collects is not confidential and is already largely known to the public.

"Associating our work to strengthen humanitarian safety with intelligence work is not only false but will only serve to place aid workers at greater risk," the statement said.

"We will continue to work tirelessly to secure the safe and immediate release of our colleagues and are committed to addressing these false accusations and misunderstandings."

The landlocked nation of 23 million people has become synonymous with the security crisis in the Sahel region south of the Sahara in recent years. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups and the governments fighting them.

The military junta — which seized power in 2022 — has failed to provide the stability it promised. According to conservative estimates, more than 60% of the country is now outside of government control, more than 2.1 million people have lost their homes and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.

NGOs say the junta has installed a system of de facto censorship, crushing critics, while many civilians have been reported killed by jihadist groups or government forces.

The country's military government has increasingly pivoted away from the West during its rule and become closer with Moscow. Earlier this year, Russia and Burkina Faso said they would work together to strengthen economic ties and diversify trade.