Security officials in Burkina Faso say four people have been kidnapped near the Pama nature reserve on the eastern border with the Republic of Benin and Niger.

The four persons consisting a soldier in Burkina Faso's army, two Spanish nationals and a conservation worker from Ireland were ambushed on a road near the reserve.

Burkina Faso is facing a deepening security crisis, like many of its neighbors in the Sahel region as insurgent groups carry out raids and kidnappings across much of the region.