According to a French diplomatic source, four French IT workers with diplomatic passports and visas were arrested in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, but the source denies that they were intelligence agents, as per a media report.
Recent tension between the junta in Burkina Faso and former colonizer France has resulted in the expulsion of diplomatic officials, such as the French ambassador, and the suspension of some French media.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that the four civil servants had traveled to the West African country to perform IT maintenance for the French embassy but were detained on Dec. 1 and transferred to Ouagadougou prison on Dec. 14.
An article published by French news magazine Jeune Afrique on Tuesday claimed that Burkina Faso had arrested four agents working for France’s external intelligence agency DGSE, which is the equivalent of America’s CIA or Britain’s MI6.
“The French government takes note of ongoing legal proceedings but denies accusations that the technicians were sent to Burkina Faso for reasons other than their IT maintenance work. It calls for their immediate return to France,” the source stated.
The Burkinabe government did not respond to a request for comment.
Following two coups last year, military authorities seized power – part of a series of recent army-led ousters in West Africa that have strained France’s once-strong ties with the region, where anti-French sentiment is increasing.
In September, the junta suspended Jeune Afrique magazine for publishing “untruthful” articles reporting tension and discontent within the African country’s armed forces.
(Reporting by John Irish; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Leslie Adler)
