Following a day of Gun battle in the capital, Ouagadougou, more than a dozen mutinous troops claimed on Monday, January 24, that a military junta now rules Burkina Faso. ayokinews.com reports
A subordinate officer read out a statement written by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, which stated that the constitution had been suspended, the government and parliament would be dissolved, and the country’s borders would be closed as of midnight Monday.
The troops justified the takeover on the civilian president’s inability to quell an Islamist insurgency, announcing that a new Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (MPSR) would restore “constitutional order” within “reasonable time.”
They also stated that a nocturnal curfew will be implemented across the country. The military said that the takeover was peaceful and that those detained were being held in a safe place.
Coup in Burkina Faso, mutinying soldiers arrest President Kabore
The statement reads:
“MPSR, which includes all sections of the army, has decided to end President Kaboré’s post today.”
“The constitution has been suspended. Secondly, the government has been dissolved. Thirdly, the national assembly has been dissolved. Fourthly, land and air borders have been closed from January 24, 2022. Lastly, a curfew has been imposed from 9pm to 5am.”
President Kabore had been in power since 2015 and was re-elected in 2020 on campaign promise to ensure the battle against Islamic insurgency a top priority. His inability to stop the brutal slaughter in the impoverished, landlocked country had sparked widespread public outrage among his citizens.
It was also learned that Kabore was the victim of a “aborted assassination attempt,” according to the governing People’s Movement for Progress on Monday. The president’s residence was also plundered, and a government minister, who was not identified, survived an assassination attempt.
The presidential palace is being “encircled” by “a group of armed and masked individuals,” according to the party, and the national radio and television stations were already “occupied.”
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