The military regime of Burkina Faso has detained eight humanitarian workers in the Safety Organisation International Non-Governmental Organization (INSO) on charges of espionage and treason. The arrested persons are three Europeans, a French man, a French-Senegalese woman and a Czech man, a Malian, and 4 Burkinabe nationals. Security Minister Mahamadou Sana accused the Netherlands-based organization of gathering and giving secret security data to other countries, even though it has been prohibited from functioning since July.
Humanitarian organizations intensify crackdown by military junta
INSO employees were arrested at a press conference announced by Security Minister Mahamadou Sana as having gathered and disseminated sensitive security information that could hurt national security and foreign interests, Burkina Faso. The company that offers security analysis to other humanitarian organizations had been suspended initially for three months in July, claiming that it had been gathering sensitive information without permission.
The arrested persons were the country director and the deputy of the INSO, who had already been arrested during the time of the first suspension. Sana even claimed that even under the ban, several members would secretly or silently proceed with the activities like collecting information or even in person and online meetings, and this was against what the government had prohibited their activities to doing.
INSO denies Burkinan’s allegations of espionage
It was also strongly criticized by the humanitarian organization based in Hague in response to the allegations, reiterating that the organization gathers information not with an aim any other than ensuring humanitarians safety. INSO insisted that the data that it collects is neither classified nor secret and that most of them are widely available in the public, which was directly against the government charges on espionage activities.
Military rulers in West Africa dissociate themselves from the Western powers
Since ousting the government in September 2022, the military government of Burkina Faso has repeatedly rejected the Western allies, especially the French, who had been a colonial power of the former French colony. The nation has joined the European neighbours Mali and Niger to establish the Alliance of Sahel States, and all three military-dominated nations have pulled out of regional and international organizations over the recent months.
The three states have downgraded military relations with Western powers in favor of increased relations with Russia, such as the nationalization of a uranium mine in Niger by the French nuclear company Orano. The shift signifies wider renounced Western influence in the Sahel region, where military regimes have strengthened their power on the basis of coups.
Humanitarian operations are complicated by the issues in regional security
In these three nations, military regimes are engaged in combating militants linked to al-Qaeda terror, who occupy the territories and attack army bases. Both the fighters and military forces have been accused by Human Rights Watch and other advocacy groups of the possible atrocities that may arise, making the security environment a complex affair for the humanitarian organizations.
The civil society concerns are expanding internationally
The governments of Burkinabe often suppress dissent among civil societies and media, citing the need to fight jihadist violence that has plagued the nation over the past decade. The arrests of INSO workers are the most recent development of the crackdown against international organizations in the region by the government. INSO has resolved to do all it can to safely release all our colleagues, and international observers are increasingly concerned by the waning humanitarian access in the Sahel region.
Humanitarian activities in unprecedented situations of restrictions and security threats are being dealt with as the junta keeps outgrowing the Western partners while fighting insurgency groups. The implied issues of the case more generally pertain to the tension between military regimes aimed at power consolidation and international agencies focused on the delivery of much-needed services in strife-torn areas.