Six Ivorian civil servants working for the Directorate of Assistance to Refugees and Stateless Persons (Daara), who were operating near the Burkina Faso border, were abducted by members of the Burkinabe civilian militia known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), according to a local official.

The officials were reportedly “abducted” in the northeastern part of Côte d’Ivoire and then “taken” across the border into Burkina Faso. A local elected official confirmed the incident to AFP, corroborating earlier reports from local media.

Relations between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso have been tense since Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power in Ouagadougou nearly three years ago following a military coup. The Burkinabe authorities regularly accuse their Ivorian neighbors of attempting to destabilize their country an accusation Abidjan firmly denies.

On August 24, six Daara agents “had gone to identify refugees in the sub-prefecture of Tougbo, in the village of Kalan 2, near the Burkina Faso border,” the local official stated under anonymity. “They were abducted and taken away by civilian auxiliaries of the Burkinabe army, the VDPs, into Burkina Faso,” he added, noting that the agents were not accompanied by Ivorian military forces.

“Airlifted to an Unknown Location”

Côte d’Ivoire currently hosts over 80,000 refugees from Burkina Faso, who have fled jihadist violence or abuses by pro-government militias.

According to the state-run Ivorian Press Agency (AIP), the Daara officials “were intercepted by Burkinabe VDPs while traveling in their official vehicle” and were “forcibly escorted to the border town of Moussokantou” in Burkina Faso.

The same source reported that “witnesses stated that, a few hours later, the Daara agents were airlifted to an unknown destination.”