Burkina Faso declared on Friday that Italian UN coordinator Barbara Manzi "persona non grata" and asked her to leave the country today.
And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said - in a statement - that Manzi, the resident coordinator of the United Nations, "has been declared persona non grata on the territory of Burkina Faso."
The ministry indicated that Manzi was asked to “leave the country on this day, December 23, 2022,” without giving an official reason for her expulsion.
According to a diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse, the measure was caused by Manzi "recently requesting and obtaining approval for the withdrawal of non-essential staff from the (UN) organization from Burkina Faso."
The source explained that the action taken by the UN official "threatens" to put the country in a sensitive situation, at a time when Burkina Faso is in dire need of partners to address the security and humanitarian crisis.
Another diplomatic source said that "a long list of accusations" prompted "Burkina Faso's diplomacy to assume its responsibilities."
Manzi was also accused of "attempting to influence negatively" and "interfering in the political affairs of Burkina Faso," according to the diplomatic source.
The expulsion of the UN envoy comes a few days after Ouagadougou deported two French people who were working for a local company, and the authorities suspect them of being spies.
Since the end of last September, Burkina Faso has been ruled by Captain Ibrahim Traore, who carried out a military coup, the second in 8 months.
The transitional president of Burkina Faso said earlier this month that "the struggle for complete independence has begun" in his country, which has been witnessing violence since 2015.
In mid-November, Prime Minister Apollinaire Kelem de Tambila expressed his country's desire to "diversify partnership relations until the right formula is found that serves the interests of Burkina Faso."
He added that "some partners ... were not always loyal," without naming specific countries.
On the fourth of December, Burkina Faso decided to "immediately suspend until further notice" the broadcast of Radio France Internationale (RFI), accusing it of transmitting a "message of intimidation" attributed to a "terrorist leader", according to a spokesman for the radio station. the government.
It is worth noting that Mali, neighboring Burkina Faso, last July expelled the spokesman for the United Nations mission for publishing - according to the ruling military council - "unacceptable information" after the Malian authorities arrested 49 soldiers from Ivory Coast.