Members of Burkina Faso’s army have announced that they have ousted the country’s leader Paul Henry Sandaogo Dambiba and dissolved government.
After seizing control of state television in Ouagadougou, the spokesman introduced Capt. Ibrahim Traore as the new head of the volatile West African country that is battling a mounting Islamic insurgency.
Traore announced that borders were closed indefinitely and all political and society activities were suspended.
Traore said that a group of officers had decided to remove Damiba due to his inability to deal with the Islamist insurgency.
Damiba and his allies overthrew the democratically elected president only nine months ago, coming to power with promises of make the country more secure. However, violence has continued unabated and frustration with his leadership has grown in recent months.
The whereabouts of coup leader-turned president Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba were not immediately known but a statement from his government on Facebook urged people to remain calm.
“Negotiations are underway to bring back calm and serenity,” said the statement attributed to the presidency spokesman. “The enemy attacking our country only wants division between Burkinabes.”
The uncertainty carried on into the late afternoon as the West African nation’s residents awaited word on who was in control of the country, which is destabilized by a growing Islamic insurgency. The United Nations voiced 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,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Constantin Gouvy, Burkina Faso researcher at Clingendael think tank, said Friday’s events “follow escalating tensions within the ruling MPSR junta and the wider army about strategic and operational decisions to tackle spiralling insecurity”.
“Members of the MPSR increasingly felt Damiba was isolating himself and casting aside those who helped him seize power,” Gouvy said.
The U.N.’s Dujarric said that on the humanitarian front Burkina Faso “continues to confront multi-dimensional crises as insecurity is growing.”
“Nearly one-fifth of the national population urgently needs humanitarian aid,” he said. “The number of security incidents increased by 220% in 2022, compared to last year.”
