Burkina Faso authorities detained Romuald Yaro, a member of the Patriotic Front, a civil society group critical of the ruling military junta.
The organization reported Friday that individuals identifying themselves as intelligence officers arrested Yaro on March 30 in Ouagadougou.
This marks the latest in a series of detentions targeting those critical of Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s leadership, who seized power in a 2022 coup.
The Patriotic Front stated they are unaware of the reasons for Yaro’s arrest or his current location.
They identified the arresting individuals as being from the ANR, Burkina Faso’s national intelligence agency.
The group condemned the arrest as an enforced disappearance, occurring outside of judicial procedures.
The Patriotic Front, comprising legally recognized civil society groups and political parties, has voiced its opposition to such actions.
While arrests and kidnappings of junta critics have been frequent, they have reportedly increased in recent weeks.Burkina Faso is grappling with escalating violence attributed to jihadists spreading from neighboring Mali and Niger.
Recent incidents include the appearance of three detained journalists in a pro-junta video and the dissolution of the Burkina Journalists’ Association (AJB) following the arrest of its leaders after they criticized attacks on press freedom.
Earlier in March, political movement SENS reported the abduction of five members, including a journalist, after they denounced alleged civilian massacres by the army and allied militias.