Burkina Faso’s ruling military junta has suspended the country’s most influential student organisation and detained its president, deepening concerns over a sweeping crackdown on dissent in the West African nation.

In a decree issued by the Minister for Territorial Administration, the General Union of Students of Burkina, known by its French acronym Ugeb, was banned from operating for three months. Authorities accuse the union of “advocating terrorism,” a charge rights groups say is increasingly used to stifle criticism of the regime.

The suspension marks a new phase in the junta’s campaign against independent voices. Since taking power in a coup, military leaders have dissolved or suspended close to a thousand civil society organisations, targeting trade unions, rights groups, and professional associations that question their rule or security strategy.

Ugeb had recently issued a strongly worded statement denouncing what it called systematic “violations of democratic, trade union, and political freedoms.” The group alleged that activists and critics were being abducted, arbitrarily detained, and held in undisclosed locations, and accused the authorities of an “obvious inability to restore security” in a country still ravaged by jihadist insurgencies.

According to the union, around ten students, including its president Wilfried Bazo, were seized during a night-time raid on its headquarters in the capital Ouagadougou. Witnesses described armed, unidentified men storming the premises and taking the students away without presenting warrants.

Prosecutors have announced a judicial investigation into Ugeb, citing the “gravity” of the writings and public statements attributed to the organisation. Legal analysts warn that such probes, conducted under broad anti-terrorism laws, can lead to lengthy pre-trial detentions and closed-door proceedings.

Human Rights Watch condemned the suspension and arrests, arguing that silencing student leaders will do nothing to resolve Burkina Faso’s deepening security and governance crises. The group urged the junta to reinstate Ugeb, release detained students, and allow peaceful criticism of state policies.

The confrontation with Ugeb underscores the shrinking space for political and civic engagement on university campuses, historically a barometer of social and political tensions in Burkina Faso. Student leaders and activists now face a stark choice between silence, exile, or the risk of being branded enemies of the state.