Burkina Faso expels the United Nations coordinator

Burkina Faso announced on Friday that the United Nations Coordinator in Ouagadougou, Italy, Barbara Manzi, is "persona non grata" and asked her to leave the country, which is ruled by a military junta and is witnessing an acute security crisis with successive attacks by extremist groups.

"Barbara Manzi, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Organization, has been declared persona non grata on the territory of Burkina Faso. Therefore, she was asked to leave Burkina Faso on this day, December 23, 2022," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Olivia Rwamba justified the measure by saying that Manzi had decided "unilaterally" to withdraw non-essential United Nations personnel from Ouagadougou.

"This matter tarnishes and stains the country's reputation and discourages potential investors. It is unreasonable and we must assume our responsibilities," the minister added during an interview with national television.

"In addition to these facts, we learned that Manzi was expecting chaos in Burkina Faso in the coming months. We do not know on what basis she expected that. Great efforts are being made on the security level and the United Nations must be a supportive structure," Rwamba said.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been witnessing bloody attacks by extremist groups linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS, which have claimed thousands of lives and forced nearly two million people to flee.

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