BURKINA FASO HAS EXPERIENCED ITS SECOND MILITARY COUP IN EIGHT MONTHS
Captain Ibrahim Traore, an army officer, has deposed Paul-Henri Damiba, eight months after the latter took power in another coup
Captain Ibrahim Traore, an army officer, has deposed Paul Henri Damiba, eight months after the latter took power in another coup. Burkina Faso's army has taken over state television, declaring that they have deposed military leader Paul-Henri Damiba, dissolved the government, and suspended the constitution and transitional charter. Captain Ibrahim Traore said in a statement read on national television late Friday that a group of officers had decided to remove Damiba due to his inability to deal with a worsening Islamist insurgency. He declared that the borders had been closed.
Burkina Faso's army has taken over state television, declaring that they have deposed military leader Paul-Henri Damiba, dissolved the government, and suspended the constitution and transitional charter.
Captain Ibrahim Traore said in a statement read on national television late Friday that a group of officers had decided to remove Damiba due to his inability to deal with a worsening Islamist insurgency. He declared that borders would be closed indefinitely, and that all political and civil society activities would be halted.
It is the west African country's second takeover in eight months. Damiba seized power in a January coup that deposed democratically elected President Roch Marc Kaboré.
Damiba and his supporters promised to make the country safer, but violence has continued unabated, and dissatisfaction with his leadership has grown in recent months.
The announcement came after a day of unrest in the capital, Ouagadougou, with gunfire ringing out.
"In the face of the continuing deterioration of the security situation, we have repeatedly tried to refocus the transition on security issues," said the statement read aloud on Friday evening by the soldiers. The soldiers promised the international community they would respect their commitments and urged Burkinabes "to go about their business in peace."
In the midst of growing uncertainty, the UN expressed concern and appealed for calm.
"Burkina Faso needs peace, it needs stability, and it needs unity in order to fight terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country," UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said."Burkina Faso needs peace, it needs stability, and it needs unity in order to fight terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country," according to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
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Some people were showing their support for the country's new leaders on the streets of Ouagadougou.
Some demonstrators advocated for Russian intervention to quell the violence, while others chanted anti-French slogans. The junta invited Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to help secure the country in neighboring Mall, though their deployment has drawn international criticism.
Damiba traveled to New York last week to address the United Nations General Assembly. Damiba justified his January coup as "a matter of survival for our nation," even if it was "perhaps reprehensible" to the international community. He delivered a speech in Djibo, in Burkina Faso's volatile north, on Thursday.
Many people in Burkina Faso initially supported the military takeover, frustrated by the previous government's inability to put a stop to Islamist violence that has killed thousands and displaced at least 2 million people. Despite this, the violence has not subsided in the months since Damiba took over. He also took over as defence minister earlier this month after dismissing a brigadier general from the position.
Earlier this week, gunmen attacked a supply convoy in Gaskinde commune, Soum province, in the Sahel, killing at least 11 soldiers and taking 50 civilians hostage. According to Eric Humphery-Smith, senior Africa analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, the attack was "a low point" for Damiba's government and "likely played a role in inspiring what we've seen so far today."
The president of the Burkina Faso Movement for Human Rights, Chrysogone Zougmore, called Friday's developments "very regrettable," saying the instability would not help in the fight against extremist violence.
"How can we hope to unite people and the army if the latter is characterised by such serious divisions?" Zougmore said. "It is time for these reactionary and political military factions to stop leading Burkina Faso adrift."
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