Burkina’s Pélagie Kaboré estimates 50,000 nationals affected
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Visionguinee
Burkina Faso’s Minister of Family and Solidarity, Pélagie Kaboré, estimates that around 50,000 Burkinabè nationals have been affected by the situation in Siguiri, Upper Guinea. She calls for an end to reprisals against Guineans living in Burkina Faso and assures them of their safety, according to RTB.
Around 50,000 Burkinabè nationals have been affected by departures from the Siguiri region, in Upper Guinea, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Family and Solidarity, Lieutenant-Colonel Passowendé Pélagie Kaboré, estimated in an interview with national broadcaster RTB.
The figures initially given ranged from 3,000 to 10,000 people, she said, before the situation evolved rapidly, with more than 10,000 Burkinabè found in the streets of Bamako while arrivals continued. In view of this development, the minister said it was difficult to establish a precise tally and estimated that around 50,000 people were concerned.
As calls for reprisals against Guineans living in Burkina Faso circulate on social media, Passowendé Pélagie Kaboré called on their authors to remain calm and exercise restraint, assuring the Guinean community that it is “here at home” and that none of its members would be troubled by the situation under way. She said the Burkinabè government was “neither directly nor indirectly” involved in these calls, and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to welcoming nationals of other African states.
The statement comes two days after Ouagadougou said it had not been informed of the expulsions from Guinea, on 5 November, and the Burkinabè capital condemned the treatment of its nationals in Mali.
