Burkina Faso Arrests NGO Workers, Accuses Them of Spying for Foreign Powers

Burkina Faso’s military government has arrested eight staff members of the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), accusing them of “spying and treason.”

The detained individuals include nationals of France, the Czech Republic, Mali, Senegal, and Burkina Faso.

Security Minister Mahamadou Sana claimed the workers continued operating after the NGO was suspended in July for allegedly collecting “sensitive data without authorisation.” He alleged that the group secretly gathered and shared security information “detrimental to national interests.”

The Netherlands-based INSO categorically rejected the accusations, stating that it only collects non-confidential information to help protect humanitarian workers and called for the immediate release of its detained staff.

The arrests come amid Burkina Faso’s deepening rift with Western nations following its 2022 military coup.

Alongside Mali and Niger, the country has withdrawn from regional blocs and ended defence cooperation with France, while pursuing closer ties with Russia under the new Alliance of Sahel States.

Burkina Faso and its allies continue to battle armed groups linked to al-Qaeda, while facing growing criticism from human rights organisations over alleged abuses by their own forces.