RT.com
01 Oct 2022, 10:12 GMT+10
Special forces in Burkina Faso launched the second military coup in a year
A faction of the Burkina Faso military claimed power in Ouagadougou on Friday, in a second coup d'etat in the West African country since the start of 2022. Captain Ibrahim Traore has replaced Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba at the head of the military junta, citing his failure to deal with an Islamist militant insurgency.
"Faced with the deteriorating situation, we tried several times to get Damiba to refocus the transition on the security question," Traore said in a statement he read on national television on Friday evening, announcing the takeover. Damiba had rejected the officers' proposals and continued with policies that had led to the fall of the previous government, he added.
"Damiba's actions gradually convinced us that his ambitions were diverting away from what we set out to do. We decided this day to remove Damiba," Traore said.
The new junta pledged to maintain all of Burkina Faso's commitments and urged the civilian population "to go about their business in peace." However, the country's borders have been closed indefinitely and all political and civil society activities suspended.
Traore's announcement came after several hours of gunfire in Ouagadougou, and a claim by government spokesman Lionel Bilgo that negotiations were underway to resolve an "internal crisis."
"The enemy attacking our country only wants division between Burkinabes," Bilgo said.
Damiba - who was educated in France - led the January 24 coup that ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. At the time, he promised a two-year process to transition the country back to democracy.
Some Burkinabe activists hailed the coup. "People were expecting a real change," Francois Beogo from the Movement for the Refounding of Burkina Faso, told AP, adding that Damiba had "shown his limits" during his nine months in power.
Burkina Faso has a population of about 20 million and is landlocked between Mali and Niger in the north, and Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire in the south. Along with its northern neighbors, it has been affected by the insurgency of militants allied with either Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS terrorist group), which has reportedly ramped up this year.
France, the former colonial power in the area, sent an expeditionary force dubbed 'Operation Barkhane' to fight the islamist terrorists, without much progress. It was recently scaled back and renamed Task Force Takuba, after Mali ordered all French troops out and accused Paris of actually helping terrorists.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Sierra Leone Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sierra Leone Times.
More InformationBENTONVILLE, Arkansas: To attract and retain employees in a tight domestic labor market, Walmart has announced that it it will ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks hesitatingly continued higher Friday, reflecting widespread gains, albeit modest ones, across the globe."We're ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: As early as this year, lab-grown meat could be served in some restaurants in the ...
BANGKOK, Thailand: Following China's reopening and the end of its strict COVID-19 restrictions, businesses on Thailand's holiday island of Phuket ...
NEW YORK, New York - Recession fears faded on Wall Street Thursday as annualized 4th quarter GDP (gross domestic product) ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In December 2022, US existing home sales declined to a 12-year low, but lower mortgage rates raised cautious ...
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso: As Burkina Faso, in western Africa, faces an Islamist insurgency, it is set to end a military ...
GOMA, Congo - When Pope Francis arrives in Congo and South Sudan next week, thousands of people will take special ...
united nations - Editor's note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this ...
Bloemfontein [South Africa], January 28 (ANI): South Africa spoilt Jofra Archer's return to international cricket and boosted their own chances ...
Washington [US], January 28 (ANI): The award-winning screenwriter of "Remember the Titans," Gregory Allen Howard, died in Miami, Florida, following ...
Indianapolis [US], January 27 (ANI): Researchers from the Regenstrief Institute showed that continuous glucose monitors and other wearable devices present ...