The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Switzerland and a foreign official have announced that a Swiss national working on an aid project funded by the United States has been detained in Burkina Faso. It was not immediately apparent why the person was arrested.

“The FDFA is aware of the arrest of a Swiss citizen in Burkina Faso,” the foreign affairs department said in a statement.

The military junta in Burkina Faso could not immediately be reached for comment on the detention. In recent years, Burkina Faso, which is part of the Sahel area of sub-Saharan Africa, has had two coups. The state-Western relations relationship has become more and more strained.

Denmark said on Monday that it was closing its embassies in Burkina Faso and Mali. This came after a diplomatic spat in which Mali decided to remove Sweden’s ambassador earlier this month.

As the chief of party for the American organisation Winrock International, the Swiss national was working on an aid project in Niger and Burkina Faso that was supported by the United States, according to a foreign official with expertise in Sahel issues.

He was initially imprisoned in Niger with a British national. They were both set free. After that, the Swiss national went to Burkina Faso, where he was taken into custody, according to the foreign official.

Virginia and Arkansas are home to Winrock International’s domestic offices. According to its website, the organisation works on water security and resilience in Niger and Burkina Faso. Winrock did not answer queries seeking comment.

The army of Burkina Faso is battling a jihadist insurgency that began 12 years ago and has since extended over the Sahel region south of the Sahara. Since 2020, the region’s escalating violence has also resulted in two coups in nearby Mali and Niger.

The junta that took over Burkina Faso in a coup in 2022 is charged with stifling dissent by abducting and enlisting opponents and advising people to report suspicious neighbours for the sake of national security.