Burkina Faso’s military rulers have arrested a leading civil society member, intensifying a crackdown on dissent, a civil group reported Friday.
Romuald Yaro, deputy secretary general of the Patriotic Front, was detained on March 30 by individuals identifying as intelligence agents in Ouagadougou.
The Patriotic Front said it has received no information about the charges or Yaro’s current whereabouts since his arrest.
The group denounced the act as an “enforced disappearance,” carried out without judicial oversight by agents linked to the national intelligence agency, ANR.
Formed by legally recognized political parties and civil organizations, the Patriotic Front is among several voices opposing the military regime.
Since Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a 2022 coup, critics of the junta have faced a wave of kidnappings and arrests.
These detentions have escalated recently, with journalists, activists, and opposition figures vanishing under unclear circumstances.
On Wednesday, three detained journalists appeared in a video filmed in what looked like a military barracks, claiming to report from the front lines.
The footage circulated on pro-junta platforms, raising concerns about coercion and propaganda.
Last week, police arrested the president of the Burkina Journalists’ Association, Guezouma Sanogo, and his deputy, prompting the group’s dissolution.
Sanogo had publicly condemned growing restrictions on media freedom during the association’s recent congress.
Earlier in March, the political movement SENS reported that five members, including a journalist, were abducted after denouncing army-linked civilian massacres.
Burkina Faso continues to struggle with violence from jihadist insurgents spilling over from Mali and Niger.
Amid the chaos, human rights groups warn that silencing civil society will only deepen the crisis and threaten fragile democratic foundations.
