Activist Bassirou Badjo was abducted from his office in the capital of Burkina Faso, as reported by the civil society group Balai Citoyen.
Badjo, an administrator at the General Directorate for National Solidarity and Humanitarian Assistance, was taken by individuals claiming to be state security agents to an unknown destination.
The incident is part of a series of abductions targeting dissidents in the junta-ruled country since the 2022 coup led by Ibrahim Traore. The crackdown on dissent and media by the regime has led to the kidnapping or arrest of several activists, lawyers, and journalists.
Balai Citoyen also revealed the kidnapping of another prominent member, columnist Rasmane Zinaba, who was taken from his home. Both Zinaba and Badjo had received conscription orders to join the military regime’s anti-jihadist fight.
Notably, at least a dozen activists, journalists, and opposition politicians were called up in November last year for the campaign against armed Islamist groups. Zinaba had sought to have his conscription order canceled through legal means.
The situation worsened as last month, renowned lawyer and Balai Citoyen co-founder Guy Herve Kam was kidnapped in Ouagadougou by individuals in civilian clothes. Burkina Faso, situated in the Sahel region, has been grappling with violent extremism since the civil war in Libya (2011), the Islamist takeover of northern Mali (2012), and the rise of Boko Haram.
Traore’s seizure of power in 2022 marked the country’s second coup in less than a year, both fueled by discontent over the government’s failure to counter jihadist insurgencies. The violence has claimed over 20,000 lives, displacing more than two million people in Burkina Faso.
