Gunshots, reports of explosions and the off-air of the official Burkina Faso TV channel in the early hours of the morning and on Friday morning (30) rekindled the fear among the population of the West African country that a new coup d’état is being brewed. in the Armed Forces.
Eight months ago, the nation of the Sahel, a region marked by violence involving jihadist movements, witnessed the ouster of President-elect Roch Kabor in a military coup. In his place, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba took over, a figure that was little known until then, but with experience in combating terrorism.
Damiba’s whereabouts are unknown, but the colonel issued a statement urging calm and stating that “certain members of the Armed Forces have created a confusing situation”. He seized power in the country with a promise to step up the fight against Islamic terrorism, which helped to assuage some of the popular discontent.
Some of the shootings recorded throughout the day were heard in the vicinity of the presidential headquarters, in the capital Ouagadougou, which raised fears among locals. Schools, businesses and banks were closed, and the city’s streets were unusually quiet for a Friday.
There were, however, those who took advantage of the episode to protest against the leaders in power. In a protest on the streets of the capital, according to reports by Reuters, activists were calling for an end to military aid sent by France, the former colonizer. “Since Damiba took power, our soldiers have died more often,” Marcelin Quedraogo, one of those present, told the agency.
Demand has grown in recent times. Faced with the accumulation of failures of French action in the Sahel, protesters ask the government to prioritize, in exchange, the help of Russia, which expands its military influence in Africa, often with the use of private military companies, sometimes described as mercenarism, which also active in the Ukrainian War — as the Wagner Group.
Dissatisfaction with Damiba’s leadership also took on a new layer earlier this month, when at least 35 civilians were killed in the north of the country after a convoy of vehicles hit a bomb hidden in the road. Then, on Tuesday (27), 11 soldiers died in an ambush in the province of Soum.
In the first six months of this year alone, according to monitoring by the US NGO Location of Armed Conflicts, groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) carried out more than 400 attacks in ten regions of Burkina Faso. As a direct result of the violence, nearly 2 million people —10% of the population— were displaced by the conflict, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Although he took power through a coup, Damiba spoke last week at the UN General Assembly in New York. The Burkinabe spoke to world leaders about jihadist violence, but also sought to justify the coup. “It was necessary and indispensable; above all, a matter of survival.”
The January coup was condemned by the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States. It also received criticism from the UN Secretary-General, the Portuguese António Guterres. But other forums, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, have taken a lenient stance — in part because of Russia’s efforts to increase its presence in the African country.
Through his spokesman, Guterres said at the time that the seizure of power was part of an “epidemic of coups all over the world, especially in that region”, referring to the Sahel. In fact, the number of coups d’état in 2021 was the highest in the world in two decades.
Burkina Faso, after Damiba’s rise to power, joined Chad, Mali and Sudan as countries in the region that saw rulers being deposed by the military.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
