[NTDTV, Beijing time, October 01, 2022]On Friday (September 30) evening, armed soldiers in military uniforms and masks appeared on Burkina Faso’s TV screens to announce the dismissal of President Damiba ( Paul-Henri Damiba), the second military coup this year in the troubled West African country.
On September 30, gunfire broke out near a military camp in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, an explosion occurred near the presidential palace, and national television programs were interrupted. Dameba’s whereabouts were unknown that night.
Burkina Faso’s new leader, Army Captain Ibrahim Traore, repeated Dameba’s approach to power grabbing, announcing that the government had been dissolved, the constitution suspended and the borders closed. He also announced a nightly curfew.
“In the face of the deteriorating situation, we have repeatedly tried to get Damiba to refocus the transition period on security,” an official said in a televised statement, signed by Traore, “Damiba. Pakistan rejected the officers’ proposals to restructure the army, and instead continued to use the military structure that led to the fall of the previous regime.”
“Damiba’s behavior gradually convinced us that his ambitions were deviating from the goals we set. We decided to remove Dameba on this day,” the statement said.
The statement added that stakeholders across the country would soon be invited to adopt a new transitional charter and designate a new civilian or military president.
It was the West African country’s second military coup in eight months. In January, Dameba ousted former President Roch Kabore in a coup d’état, partly due to frustration with the country’s worsening insecurity.
In recent years, Burkina Faso has become the epicentre of violence perpetrated by terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS)-linked groups that began in neighboring Mali in 2012 and spread to Other West African countries south of the Sahara Desert.
With the Islamic State insurgents raging through the countryside of the Sahel, killing thousands and forcing millions to flee, hope that things would improve after the junta came to power, but was quickly disappointed, people Confidence in a weak government that has yet to find a way to repel the insurgents has been severely eroded.
At least 11 soldiers were killed and dozens of civilians were missing in an attack in northern Burkina Faso this week.
The latest coup was strongly condemned by West Africa’s political bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which said it took place at an “inappropriate” time for progress towards restoring constitutional order. The group had tried to persuade Burkina Faso’s coup leaders to return to civilian rule as soon as possible.
ECOWAS suspended activities in Burkina Faso after a coup in January, but agreed to give it two years to transition back to democratic elections.
“ECOWAS reiterates its unequivocal rejection of any use of unconstitutional means to seize or maintain power,” said ECOWAS in a statement shared on social media. The group demanded that Burkina Faso strictly abide by the agreements already reached. Timetable to restore constitutional order by July 1, 2024 at the latest.
UN expresses concern over Burkina Faso and calls for calm. “Burkina Faso needs peace, stability and unity in order to combat terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
(Comprehensive report by reporter Li Zhaoxi/responsible editor: Lin Qing)
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