By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Carol Flore-Smereczniak a top official of the United Nations in Burkina Faso has been expelled by the West African nation’s military junta over her role in writing a report about children allegedly caught up in the country’s jihadist conflict.
She was declared “persona non grata” over the report that came out in March, covering a period of two years, detailing several cases of alleged child recruitment, killings, sexual violence and abuse.
The report which the government has since rejected blames Islamist insurgents, government soldiers and civilian defence forces.
Capt Ibrahim Traoré, leader of the junta which came to power September 2022 says it was not consulted by the UN, saying the report is laced with unfounded allegations.
It did not cite any documentation “or court rulings to support the alleged cases of violations against children attributed to the valiant Burkinabé fighters”, the government’s statement said.
Burkina Faso has since 2015 faced jihadist rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group waging insurgency war that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions from their homes.
This has led to political instability that brought about two military coups in 2022.
Appointed in July 2024, over 18 months after her predecessor was expelled, Ms Flore-Smereczniak, a Mauritius national has worked in territories experiencing or recovering from conflict for more than two decades, holding positions in Ivory Coast, Chad and Malawi, UN says.
The UN representative before her, Italian Barbara Manzi, was declared “persona non grata” by the junta in December 2022 not long after publishing a blog post describing how the crisis was affecting education and health services, forcing many to close down.
Last year, the military government announced it was extending junta rule for another five years.
It also said that Capt Traoré, whose popularity among young Africans is waxing strong would be allowed to run for President in 2029.
