A Burkinabe army official yesterday said that Burkina Faso’s embattled President Blaise Compaore had been ousted, prompting an outburst of cheers from protesters demanding Compaore’s resignation.
Burkina Faso’s armed forces head General Honore Traore said yesterday that he had taken charge of the west African state after Compaore’s resignation.
“As of today, Compaore is no longer in power,” Burkina Faso Army Colonel Boureima Farta told tens of thousands of protesters who had gathered in front of the army headquarters.
Photo: AFP
Farta spoke to the crowd shortly after noon, hoisted on the shoulders of other officers.
Compaore, who has been in power for 27 years, on Thursday rejected calls to step down following angry demonstrations over his plans to seek a constitutional amendment to allow him to extend his rule.
He said he would no longer seek another term, but would stay in power through next year under a transitional government.
Amid the protests, Taiwan’s diplomatic and support staff stationed in the nation were all reported to be safe, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Ministry spokeswoman Anna Kao (高安) said the Republic of China embassy in the nation, one of Taiwan’s 22 diplomatic allies, has taken measures to ensure it is in contact with Taiwanese nationals and businesspeople there. The ministry has been in close touch with embassy staff, she said.
She added that the protest has not affected foreigners in the nation at this point.
Earlier yesterday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Burkina Faso to urge Compaore to step down, a day after the army dissolved parliament and announced a transitional government in the face of violent mass protests.
Compaore has ruled the landlocked West African nation since he seized power in a 1987 coup.
Long a bastion of stability in the turbulent Sahel region, Burkina Faso’s crisis is being closely watched by military allies France and the US, and by governments in the region where several long-standing rulers are approaching the end of their mandates amid rumblings of popular discontent.
Many protesters in the capital, Ouagadougou, said they wanted retired Burkina Faso Army General Kouame Lougue, a popular former minister of defense who was accused of trying to topple Blaise in 2004, to take charge on an interim basis amid frustration with the political opposition.
“We want him out of power. He is not our president,” Ouedrago Yakubo said among the huge crowd that gathered at the main Place de la Nation and in front of the army headquarters.
The square — the size of a sports stadium — and surrounding streets were packed with more protesters than any other day this week, according to a reporter —probably pushing the numbers into the hundreds of thousands.
People blew whistles and honked car horns, but there was no sign of the confrontations with security forces that accompanied Thursday’s protests, in which at least three people were killed.
The US on Friday praised Compaore’s decision to withdraw the bill that would have allowed him to seek an additional term and his decision to pass power to a democratically elected government, US Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
The prospect of Compaore’s departure has raised fears of turbulence in a nation that shares borders with six other countries at the heart of the turbulent Sahel.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique