“Among the gold miners expelled from Guinea are Ivorians, Sudanese, Malians and Burkinabè” (Kourouma)

Guinean MP Abdoulaye Kourouma says the ban on anarchic gold mining in the Siguiri region is a sovereign administrative measure, not an action targeting Burkinabè people. He says the expelled miners included Ivorians, Sudanese, Malians and Burkinabè, as well as many Guineans. According to him, the measure was accompanied by the dismissal of 22 territorial administrators and more than 470 neighborhood and district chiefs. Kourouma says he spoke with Burkina Faso’s foreign minister and criticizes bloggers for, in his view, inflaming tensions.