Members of Burkina Faso’s armed forces have announced they’ve carried out another coup on state TV.
Armed and masked soldiers confirmed they have ousted the country’s military leader Paul-Henri Damiba and seized power.
In a statement read on national television late on Friday, army captain Ibrahim Traore cited the previous leaders failure to deal with Islamist uprisings as the reason for his removal.
He also announced that borders were closed indefinitely and all political activities were suspended, before dissolving the current government and suspending its constitution.
The takeover is the West African nation’s second coup in eight months, following the overthrow of democratically elected president Roch Marc Kaboré.
Lt Col Damiba’s junta said it would keep the country safe from Islamist insurgents which have been waging war in the country since 2015 but his efforts have fuelled discontent among his own ranks.
A group of 11 soldiers were killed on Monday while escorting a convoy of civilian vehicles, news which triggered protests in the capital during which gunfire was heard.
‘Faced with the deteriorating situation, we tried several times to get Damiba to refocus the transition on the security question,” said the statement signed by Traore.
‘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,’ it said.
Soldiers have urged locals to go about their usual business in the meantime and have promised the international community they will honour existing agreements.
Damiba’s current whereabouts are unknown.
Following the announcement crowds gathered on the streets of the nation’s capital, Ouagadougou, to show their support for the coup.
Some of the demonstrators voiced support for Russian involvement in order to stem the violence, with others shouting slogans critical of Burkina Faso’s former coloniser, France.
Wagner – Russian mercenaries who have active in Africa – had recently been deployed to support a military junta in neighbouring Mali, although it is unknown if they currently have a presence in Burkina Faso or not.
The incident is the eighth successful coup to take place in the West African nation since it became independent in 1960.
Many in Burkina Faso initially supported Damiba’s military takeover in January, frustrated with the previous government’s inability to stem Islamist violence that has killed thousands and displaced at least 2 million.
The UN has voiced concern over the coup and has 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.
Chrysogone Zougmore, president of the Burkina Faso Movement for Human Rights, said Friday’s developments were ‘very regrettable’, and claimed the instability would not help in the fight against the 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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