A top official of the United Nations (UN) to Burkina Faso has been expelled from the West African Country’s Junta over a report about children caught up in the jihadist conflict.
Due of her role in drafting the report that came out in March, Carol Flore-Smereczniak was declared “persona non grata”.
The study, which covered a two-year period, detailed over 2,000 cases of reported child recruitment, killings, sexual violence and abuse – with blame slammed on Islamist insurgents, government soldiers and civilian defence forces.
The military government, which emerged to power in September 2022 and is headed by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, made known, it had not been consulted by the UN, saying the report contained unfounded allegations.
A statement by the government says: It did not cite any documentation “or court rulings to support the alleged cases of violations against children attributed to the valiant Burkinabé fighters”.
Photo: Carol Flore-Smereczniak, top UN official from Mauritius | UN
