Guinea bans artisanal gold mining: Côte d’Ivoire denies entry to 16 Burkinabè, including minors

On November 6, 2026, Côte d’Ivoire denied entry to 16 Burkinabè, including several teenagers aged 15 to 19, returning from the Boola gold-mining sites in Guinea. They were sent back to Nzérékoré after Conakry banned artisanal gold mining on November 2, then left by minibus for Bamako. Ouagadougou says more than 8,000 Burkinabè have been expelled from Guinea, while Mali says it is hosting about 160,000 people turned back and reports six deaths. Guinean lawmaker Abdoulaye Kourouma describes the measure as an exercise of sovereignty that targets no particular nationality.