Burkina Faso gives two EU diplomats 72 hours to leave the country

Algiers, July 15 (KUNA) -- Burkina Faso authorities declared two diplomats from the European Union delegation in the capital, Ouagadougou, persona non grata on Wednesday, giving them 72 hours to leave the country without providing any official explanation for the decision. The Burkinabe Information Agency stated in a bulletin that the decision was communicated to the diplomats on Tuesday: the deputy head of the EU delegation in Ouagadougou and an official responsible for one of the EU’s programs, without disclosing their identities. No official comment has been issued so far by the European Union regarding the decision, which comes amid escalating diplomatic tensions between Ouagadougou and Brussels, as well as ongoing disputes with France. The roots of the crisis date back to June last year, when the European Parliament adopted a resolution that Burkina Faso authorities deemed “hostile” for criticizing what it described as “the shrinking of civic space and fundamental freedoms in Burkina Faso” and calling for independent investigations into allegations of human rights violations. In response to the European Parliament’s decision, Burkina Faso’s foreign minister summoned the EU delegation head in the country on June 22 to formally protest the content of the European resolution. Amid the escalating tensions, Ouagadougou also announced the severing of diplomatic relations with France, while authorities canceled meetings that had been scheduled with the EU’s special envoy for the Sahel region, who was visiting the country at the time. (End) M.R. / M.A. H.A.