Ouagadougou (Reuters) – Burkina Faso army captain Ibrahim Traore said in a statement read by national television on Friday night that he had ousted military leader Paul Henry Damiba and dissolved the government in the second coup in the West African country in eight months.
Traore said a group of officers who helped Damiba seize power in January decided to sack their leader due to his inability to deal with a growing Islamist insurgency. Damiba ousted former president Rosh Kabore in January, partly for the same reason.
Traore said the constitution has been suspended, the transitional charter repealed, borders closed indefinitely, and all political and civil society activities suspended. A curfew was announced from 2100 GMT until 0500 GMT.
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Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Henry Damiba, who led the military coup in Burkina Faso in January, sits during his second swearing-in as president to lead a three-year transition period after a national conference approved a transitional charter in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso March 2, 2022. REUTERS/ANN mimault/photo file
“In the face of the deteriorating situation, we have tried several times to persuade Damiba to refocus the transition on the security issue,” said the statement, signed by Traore and read by another officer on television. shield.
The statement said that Damiba rejected the officers’ proposals to reorganize the army and instead continued the military structure that led to the fall of the previous regime.
“Damiba’s actions have gradually convinced us that his ambitions are turning away from what we set out to do. Today we have decided to remove Damiba,” the statement said.
She added that national stakeholders will soon be invited to adopt a new transitional charter and appoint a new civilian or military president.
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writing by Nelly Peyton; Editing by Patti Felix and Sandra Mahler
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