Burundi expels four WHO officials

The Burundian foreign ministry on Thursday confirmed it has declared four officials of World Health Organization (WHO)'s Burundi office persona non grata.

"It's true that the note verbale (that declared the decision) has been issued by our ministry", Bernard Ntahiraja, assistant to the Burundian foreign affairs minister, told Xinhua on phone.

The four expelled included WHO Burundi country representative Walter Kazadi Mulombo and three WHO experts also based in Burundi.

Those four WHO officials have to "leave the Burundian territory" until May 15, said the note verbale signed on May 12 and sent to the WHO's Regional Office for Africa in Brazzavile.

Ntahiraja abstained to reveal the reason of the decision, saying that authorities do not have to explain why people have been declared persona non grata in the context of a note verbale, citing the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

The move came as Burundi registered 27 COVID-19 cases, including 11 recoveries and one death.