An officer in Burkina Faso’s presidential guard seized power yesterday, promising to lead the west African country to elections after the resignation of longtime Burkinabe president Blaise Compaore, in an apparent putsch against the military chief of staff.
Compaore stepped down on Friday after two days of mass protests against his attempts to change the constitution to extend his 27-year rule.
At least three people were killed after protesters stormed the parliament building in Ouagadougou and set it on fire.
Photo: Reuters
Burkinabe Army Chief of Staff General Honore Traore, a Compaore loyalist, had quickly announced on Friday that he would take over the presidency on a transitional basis, but this was rejected by the demonstrators and a number of junior officers.
After reports of heavy gunfire near the presidential palace early yesterday, Lieutenant Colonel Issaac Zida, the operational commander of the elite presidential guard, announced on radio that he was taking power.
“I assume from today the responsibilities of head of this transition and head of state,” Zida, clad in military fatigues, said in the studio of BF1 television.
“I salute the memory of the martyrs of this uprising and bow to the sacrifices made by our people,” he added.
The unfolding crisis was being closely watched by the US and former colonial power France, which were close military allies of Compaore. Under his rule, Burkina Faso became a key ally in Western operations against al-Qaeda-linked groups in west Africa.
The events will also be carefully followed by other governments in west and central Africa, where long-serving leaders are reaching the end of their constitutional terms in several countries, including Benin, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Zida said that the army stepped in to avoid anarchy and ensure a swift democratic transition.
He said a roadmap to elections would be drafted by a body drawn from different elements of society, including political parties and civil society.
He appealed to the African Union and west African regional bloc ECOWAS to show its support for the transition.
“This is not a coup d’etat, but a popular uprising,” he told reporters after making the statement. “The people have hopes and expectations, and we believe we have understood them.”
It is the seventh time that a military officer has taken over as head of state since the country declared independence from France in 1960, when it was known as Upper Volta.
Troops loyal to Zida had deployed at strategic points across the dusty capital, Ouagadougou, enforcing a curfew from 7pm to 6am.
The airport and land borders had also been closed on his orders, soldiers said.
Meanwhile, military forces in the Ivory Coast said last night that Compaore had arrived in the country. No further details were available as of press time.
Despite being one of the world’s poorest nations, Burkina Faso positioned itself as a key mediator in regional crises under the stewardship of Compaore — renowned as a skilled negotiator and a wily, ruthless politician.
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