Madar (Ouagadougou) - More than 43,800 Burkinabe nationals forced to leave Guinea have returned to the country, according to an update presented at a coordination meeting in Ouagadougou on Thursday, 12 November 2026, the state-owned daily Sidwaya reported on Friday, 13 November.
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Family and Solidarity in her capacity as president of the National Council for Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation (CONASUR), with the council's sector members and the governors of the country's 17 regions. It aimed to update all stakeholders on the operation and examine the arrangements needed to continue it.
According to the newspaper, 154 buses and 44 trucks have been mobilised to run convoys between regrouping zones in Mali and Burkina Faso since the prime minister activated the interministerial crisis management mechanism on 3 November.
Challenges raised included health and security concerns at reception and transit sites, identifying people without identity documents, restoring family links, helping young adults return to their home areas and reintegrate, school-age children, and preventing new departures to artisanal gold-mining sites in precarious conditions.
The minister instructed governors to ensure a "dignified and secure" reception for returnees and to organise awareness sessions, particularly for young people, on socio-professional reintegration opportunities. She also asked that data be collected and released in coordination with the competent authorities to guarantee reliable information.
The Solidarity minister had put the number of people affected at around 50,000 in early November and rejected calls for reprisals against Guineans.
