Burkina Faso lived a coup last Monday, January 24, after a previous day of tension due to the shots fired at various military barracks in the capital and other cities, initially described as a supposed mutiny to demand improvements in the Armed Forces (a regular target of jihadist attacks suffered by the country since 2015). Learn here the keys to understand what happened in the country.
(In context: The military confirms the coup in Burkina Faso and deposes Kaboré)
What happened in Burkina Faso?
The coup It was confirmed this Monday after experiencing a tense situation on Sunday due to the shooting in several military barracks in Ouagadougou and other cities, incidents initially described as a supposed mutiny to demand improvements in the Armed Forces.
Sunday’s situation was preceded on Saturday by a day of unauthorized demonstrations, called by civil society to express the great social discontent, increased in recent months, due to the insecurity generated by jihadist violence, and to demand Kaboré’s resignation.
Burkina Faso suffers from jihadism since 2015 and the attacks, which are attributed to groups allied to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, have caused more than 1.5 million internally displaced persons, according to the Burkina Faso government.
The coup in Burkina Faso is the fourth suffered by the West African region, after the two that occurred in neighboring Mali (August 2020 and May 2021), a country that also suffers from the scourge of jihadist terrorism; and that of Guinea-Conakry (September 2021).
Who carried out the coup?
lieutenant colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba He is the leader of the military rebels and an officer at the forefront of the fight against jihadist terrorism who is emerging as the new strong man of this West African country.
Born on January 2, 1981 in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, this senior infantry officer graduated from the Paris Military School. He also has a master’s degree in criminology from the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM) in the French capital, as well as a defense expert certification in direction, command and strategy.
The colonel is a former member of Blaise Compaoré’s presidential guard, who ruled the country for 27 years until his attempted constitutional amendment sparked popular protests that pushed him to leave power on October 31, 2014 and go into exile to the neighboring Costa de Ivory.
Damiba was one of those who opposed the attempted coup of September 2015, led by Generals Djibril Bassolé and Gilbert Diendéré. His comrades-in-arms define him as “a discreet and effective man on the ground,” according to local radio Oméga.
According to the Burkina Faso Information Agency (AIB), Damiba participated in the operational training of almost all of the Army’s special units against jihadism and commanded the Dori (northern city) infantry regiments in 2015 and Ouahigouya (northwest ) in 2019.
In addition, since December of last year he has been in command of the country’s third military region, with headquarters in Ouagadougou and branches in Koudougou (center-west), Fada N’Gourme (east) and Manga (center-south).
He was appointed to this position through a decree signed by Kaboré, when the already deposed president decided to reorganize the military hierarchy after the attack in Inata (north) that caused the death of 53 people (49 gendarmes and 4 civilians). That attack unleashed a great social discontent that fueled the tension that, in the end, has resulted in the coup d’état.
Who is the deposed president?
The President of Burkina Faso, Roch Kaborewho resigned on the Tuesday after
military coup d’état, had been on the tightrope for months due to social weariness with the jihadist terrorism that is shaking the country.
Kaboré was deposed after winning the November 2020 elections to govern one of the poorest countries in the world and plagued by jihadism for another five years.
Winner in 2015 in the elections held after the popular uprising that expelled President Blaise Compaoré, Kaboré was seen as an “opportunist” by his detractors, after being part of the Compaoré government since he assumed the head of state in 1987.
Born on April 25, 1957 in Ouagadougou, the Burkina Faso capital, Kaboré is the son of teachers, but his father embarked on a different path to teaching as a technical adviser to the Minister of the Interior and Minister of Finance and Public Health.
In his first five years as president, Kaboré implemented free health care for women and children under five, improved the supply of clean water, and built new roads. But he did not solve the pressing security problem in the country, which has suffered jihadist attacks since April 2015 from groups allied to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
“I am convinced that in national unity and cohesion we will emerge victorious from this war imposed on our people and all the other peoples of the world,” he said after the first jihadist attack in Ouagadougou in January 2016, which caused thirty deaths.
The straw that seems to have broken the camel’s back for the population’s patience was an attack perpetrated on November 14 in the north of the country, which caused at least 53 deaths. This attack generated enormous outrage and gave rise to demonstrations against insecurity that demanded Kaboré’s resignation.
On the other hand, a coalition of parties from the ousted presidential majority asked the military junta on Wednesday for the “immediate” and “unconditional” release of Kaboré, as well as other detained personalities.
What does the international community say?
The international community has condemned the seizure of power by the military. In a statement, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) today “firmly condemned this military coup that marks a considerable democratic setback for Burkina Faso.”
The G5 Sahel regional military coalition (Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad) declared on Tuesday that the coup could “jeopardize the democratic gains in this member country of the organization.”
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, also condemned the military rebellion and assured that he had been informed that the physical integrity of President Kaboré is not threatened.
The UN and the European Union also expressed their rejection, and the United States demanded a return to constitutional order and warned that it will review its foreign aid to the African country if the situation does not calm down soon.
What do the citizens say?
The military junta that leads Burkina Faso after the successful coup received popular support on Tuesday in the streets of the country, despite the condemnation of the international community, which condemned the breakdown of the constitutional order.
Hundreds of young people demonstrated in the center of Ouagadougou, the Burkina Faso capital, and other cities in the country to show their support for the military.
With signs reading “Down with France” or “Long live the Army”, the demonstrators gathered in the Plaza de la Nación in Ouagadougou, which since this morning presented a festive air with dances, songs, shouts and the sound of whistles, after that this Monday the military rebels since last Sunday confirmed on state television that they had taken power.
“We are here to express our solidarity and support for the Burkinabe Army (…)”, a protester told the local media Faso7, indicating that President Kaboré, in power since 2015, has been “incompetent” to manage the threat of jihadist terrorism and “incapable” of responding to the aspirations of the Burkinabe people.
“We don’t trust politicians (…). We know who he is (coup leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba) and he knows who we are, he knows the terrain (…). We have confidence in our military and we are with them,” a militant from the “Save Burkina Faso” citizen movement assured Faso7.
Demonstrations in favor of the military have also taken place in other cities in the country, such as Ouahigouya (north) or Kaya (central-north).
INTERNATIONAL WRITING*
With information from EFE
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