Burkina Faso’s army chief President Paul-Henri Damibas on 30 September was deposed Within the nation’s second coup in a yr, military captain Ibrahim Traore took workplace, dissolved the transitional authorities and suspended the structure.
Traore, 34, mentioned on Friday night {that a} group of officers had determined to take away Damiba due to his incapability to cope with an armed insurgency within the nation, which has worsened over the previous 9 months.
damiba resigned from his publish On Sunday the neighbor fled to Togo.
Tensions have escalated in Burkina Faso after clashes between protesters and safety forces since Friday.
Listed below are the principle particulars of what occurred:
How did issues get right here?
On 24 January, Burkina Faso’s military, led by Damiba, introduced that it had deposed President Roch Kabor after greater than six years in energy, after a number of days of unrest within the capital, Ouagadougou.
Damiba cited the failure of the Kabor administration to unite the nation and management the deteriorating safety state of affairs as causes for the elimination of the civilian authorities.
Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been caught in a rising wave of violence attributed to rebel fighters affiliated with each al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, which killed hundreds and displaced two million. Analysts Have Stated It Made It New Middle of battle in Saheli,
Whereas the transfer brought on some celebration amongst anti-government protesters, worldwide actors expressed concern concerning the transfer, together with the US and France.
The West African Regional Bloc Financial Group of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Burkina Faso from the group, and demanded that the Damiba-led authorities maintain elections as quickly as attainable.
What occurred underneath Damiba’s rule?
Regardless of Damiba’s guarantees to enhance the safety state of affairs within the nation, the disaster deepened underneath his authorities.
Based on the Armed Battle Location and Occasion Information Venture (ACLED), there was a 23 % enhance in assaults by armed teams within the 5 months since former chief Damiba took workplace.
In June, Mahamadou Issoufou, the previous president of Niger and mediator between Burkina Faso and ECOWAS, mentioned that Ouagadougou managed solely 60 % of the nation And the remainder of the realm was exterior the management of the state.
Damiba was additionally criticized for taking a pro-French stance in collaborating with the previous colonist to root out armed teams, as anti-French sentiment grew within the former colonies.
Some within the nation have argued that the federal government ought to search assist from Moscow, which neighboring Mali has taken in permitting personal Russian mercenary agency Wagner Group to function inside its borders.
On the financial entrance, the United Nations highlighted Burkina Faso, a rustic of 16 million folks, as one among a number of West African international locations going through the worst with the nation going through “alarming ranges” of starvation. . starvation disaster Over 630,000 individuals are on the verge of hunger in six years.
blockade of cities The United Nations has mentioned it has made it troublesome for armed teams to achieve the needy.
Who’s Damiba’s successor Ibrahim Traore?
Earlier than rising to the nation’s highest publish after the overthrow of Damiba, Traor was a comparatively low-ranking officer operating an artillery regiment in a small northern city.
Little is thought concerning the 34-year-old and his assistant officers, who’ve claimed that he is not going to be in energy for very lengthy.
In an interview with French state broadcaster RFI, Traore has mentioned {that a} nationwide convention would appoint a brand new interim chief by the top of the yr – who could possibly be civilian or army – and would honor an settlement with the regional bloc of West Africa. and can oversee the return. Civil rule until 2024.
“We did not come to proceed, we did not come for any particular goal,” he mentioned. “All that issues when the extent of safety returns is the battle, its evolution.”
The brand new chief additionally rejected allegations by coup supporters that Damiba was being guarded by the French and was planning to launch a counter-coup with their assist.
“There are a lot of companions. France is the companion. There isn’t any particular goal,” he informed RFI.
How have been the reactions?
The overthrow of Damiba is being condemned internationally.
ECOWAS mentioned it got here at an “inappropriate” time when progress was being made in direction of a return to constitutional order within the West African state.
“ECOWAS reaffirms its unequivocal opposition to any seizure or upkeep of energy by unconstitutional means,” it mentioned in a Assertion Shared on social media.
African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamato condemned “Unconstitutional change of presidency” and urged the federal government to cease acts of violence and threats to the civilian inhabitants
France informed its residents in Ouagadougou, who quantity between 4,000 and 5,000, to remain at residence, whereas the European Union expressed “concern” over the unfolding occasions.