Eight members of the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO) have been freed by the Burkina Faso authorities after being arrested over accusations of spying, INSO announced Friday.

Burkina Faso's government revoked the authorisation of 21 NGOs working in the country in July, including Netherlands-based INSO.

"INSO welcomes the safe release of our colleagues, and appreciate the support that made this possible," the organisation said in a statement.

The arrests occurred from July but were only announced by the government in early October.

INSO clarified Friday that its staff had been released at the end of October.

The eight members included a Frenchman, a French-Senegalese woman, a Czech man, a Malian and four Burkinabe nationals.

Espionage claims

Burkinabe authorities had claimed INSO had collected and passed on sensitive security information about the country to foreign powers, and that its members continued to work covertly despite being banned.

INSO, which did not provide further details on the matter, provides security analyses for other humanitarian organisations.

"As a humanitarian organisation we remain committed to supporting humanitarian organisations delivering aid safely to all those in need," it said.

At the end of 2024, Burkina Faso's ally and neighbour Niger, had also revoked INSO's authorisation to operate on its territory.