Burkina Faso’s military government on Friday ordered senior United Nations (UN) official Barbara Manzi to leave the country immediately, without giving a reason, reported The Africa News.
“Ms. Barbara Manzi, resident coordinator of the United Nations system, is declared persona non grata on the territory of Burkina Faso. She is therefore requested to leave Burkina Faso today, December 23, 2022,” read a statement from Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without giving any official reason for the expulsion.
Ms. Manzi Manzi, who was appointed to the post last year, had recently requested and obtained the withdrawal of non-essential personnel of the (UN) system from the country.
As per the source, the UN official’s decision risks placing the country in a delicate situation, at a time when there is dire need of partners to control the security and humanitarian crisis.
The UN official’s expulsion comes days after two French nationals working for a Burkinabe company were expelled on charges of espionage.
The West African nation is under a military rule, having experienced two military coups earlier year, driven by army officers’ anger over the failure of the government to tackle the threat from armed groups.
Burkina Faso has been ruled since the end of September by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, author of a military coup, the second in eight months.
Last month Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem de Tembela said he hoped to diversify partnership relations until the government finds the right formula for the interests of the country.
He also said that some partners had not always been loyal, without naming any countries.
In July, Burkina Faso’s neighboring country Mali, also caught up in a serious security crisis, expelled Olivier Salgado, the spokesman for the United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), for having published “unacceptable information” the day after the arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers in Bamako.
