The military in Burkina Faso announced in a televised statement on Friday evening the resignation of the head of the ruling military junta, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who came to power in a late January coup. At the end of the day, when shootings broke out near the presidential residence in the capital Ouagadougou, about 15 soldiers, some of them wearing masks, appeared on national television around 18:00 (GMT and local time).
“Lt. Col. Damiba has been removed from his position as head of the National Rescue and Reform Movement,” one of the military’s governing body said in a statement.
They explained that Captain Ibrahim Traore had become the new head of the military council.
They also announced the closure of land and air borders from midnight, as well as the suspension of the constitution and the dissolution of the government and the Transitional Legislative Council.
A curfew was introduced from nine in the evening to five in the morning.
The military motivated their step by the “constant deterioration of the security situation” in the country.
“We have decided to take on our responsibilities with one supreme goal: to restore the security and integrity of our lands,” they said in a statement.
Since coming to power, Damiba has vowed to make security a priority in a country that has been the target of bloody jihadist attacks for years, but jihadist activity has doubled in recent months, especially in the north.
Since 2015, repeated attacks by militant movements linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State jihadists have killed thousands and displaced nearly two million people from their homes.
