QWho rules Burkina Faso? Confusion reigned in Ouagadougou on Saturday evening after a declaration by the army not recognizing the seizure of power the day before by soldiers who had announced that they had dismissed the head of the junta, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
In its first reaction since Friday evening, the General Staff of the Armies admitted to going through “an internal crisis”, but indicated that the “consultations” were continuing.
“Some units have taken control of certain arteries in the city of Ouagadougou, asking for a declaration of departure from Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba”, adds the press release which specifies that this tension “does not represent the position of the institution”.
For their part, the putschists affirmed on Saturday afternoon in a televised address that Mr. Damiba was preparing a “counter-offensive” from “the French base of Kamboinsin”, a military camp near Ouagadougou where French special forces are training their Burkinabè counterparts. .
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has “formally denied any involvement in the events underway since yesterday in Burkina”.
“The camp where our French forces are located has never hosted Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, nor has our embassy,” Paris continued.
For the time being, the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Damiba remain unknown.
At the end of the afternoon, two French institutions were targeted by demonstrators: a fire broke out in front of the French embassy in Ouagadougou, an AFP journalist and another in front of the French Institute noted. in Bobo-Dioulasso, according to witnesses in this city in the west of the country.
In their statement on Saturday afternoon, signed by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, self-proclaimed new head of the junta on Friday evening, the putschists mention their “firm desire to go to other partners ready to help in the fight against terrorism”.
Friday, a few hours before the coup, several hundred people demonstrated in the capital to demand the departure of Mr. Damiba, but also the end of the French military presence in the Sahel and military cooperation with Russia.
Moscow’s influence has been growing in several French-speaking African countries in recent years and it is not uncommon to see Russian flags in such demonstrations.
Fear of clashes
After a calm night and morning, the situation became tense again in Ouagadougou at midday, following shootings and the deployment of soldiers in the streets raising fears of clashes between supporters of Mr. Damiba and the new putschists.
The main axes of the city were blocked, in particular the district of Ouaga 2000 which houses the presidency. And helicopters flew low over the city center, according to an AFP journalist.
Friday evening, after a day peppered with shooting in the district of the presidency in Ouagadougou, soldiers intervened on national television to announce that they were dismissing Mr. Damiba.
They announced the closure of the borders, the suspension of the Constitution and the dissolution of the government and the Transitional Legislative Assembly. A curfew has also been put in place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. (local time and GMT).
The new self-proclaimed leader of the junta, Captain Traoré, was until now the corps commander of the Kaya artillery regiment, in the north of the country, particularly affected by jihadist attacks.
According to several security sources, this coup reveals deep disagreements within the army, the elite unit of the “Cobras” deployed in the anti-jihadist fight having reproached Mr. Damiba in particular for not mobilizing all the forces on field.
UN, EU and AU condemn
The international community for its part condemned this new coup.
On Saturday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres “strongly” condemned in a statement “any attempt to seize power by force of arms”.
The African Union (AU) denounced an “unconstitutional change of government” and the European Union (EU) considered that the coup put “in danger the efforts undertaken for several months” for the transition.
As of Friday evening, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had “condemned with the greatest firmness” a coup deemed “inappropriate at a time when progress has been made for a return to order. constitutional no later than July 1, 2024”.
For the time being, the new putschists have not indicated whether they intend to respect this transition schedule.
Mr. Damiba had come to power in January by a coup that overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, discredited by the increase in jihadist violence.
But in recent months, attacks hitting dozens of civilians and soldiers have multiplied in the north and east, where cities are now subject to a blockade by jihadists.
Since 2015, recurrent attacks by armed movements affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group have killed thousands and displaced some two million people.
With the two putsches in Mali in August 2020 and May 2021 and that in Guinea in September 2021, this is the fifth coup in West Africa since 2020.
01/10/2022 20:35:53 – Ouagadougou (AFP) – © 2022 AFP