Supporters of Burkina Faso's new junta rallied on Tuesday as the UN, France and the poor Sahel country's neighbours condemned its latest coup.

Army officers in the notoriously volatile West African state detained President Roch Marc Christian Kabore on Monday amid deepening anger over his handling of a jihadist insurgency.

The former French colony is now in the hands of the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (MPSR), the name of a junta led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

Several hundred people gathered in Nation Square in the heart of the capital Ouagadougou, waving flags and sounding vuvuzela horns in a loud show of support for the junta, while hawkers nearby sold posters of the new strongman.

"We called for President Kabore's departure several times, but he didn't listen to us. The army heard us and understood," said Lassane Ouedrago, an activist in a grassroots group.

"As far as we're concerned, it's not a coup," said Julienne Traore, a 30-year-old teacher. "It's the liberation of a country, which was being governed by people who were incompetent."

Some demonstrators carried Malian and Russian flags -- a reference to neighbouring Mali's military junta, which in 2020 also took power on the back of protests over the response to jihadist bloodshed, and has recently forged security ties with Moscow.

Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, thought to be close to President Vladimir Putin and suspected of having ties with the Wagner mercenary group active in Mali, said the coup was a sign of a "new era of decolonisation" in Africa.

The junta late Monday suspended Burkina's constitution, dissolved the government and parliament and closed the country's borders.

The MPSR will re-establish "constitutional order" within a "reasonable time," the junta said in a statement, adding that a nighttime curfew would be enforced.

On Tuesday, the junta announced the resumption of air traffic while reopening land borders for vehicles carrying humanitarian, military and essential goods.

Despite the political upheaval, life in Ouagadougou seemed to continue as normal.

The city's main market, shops and petrol stations were open, and there was no particular military presence in the centre, an AFP journalist saw.

- Widespread condemnation -

West Africa has been rattled by three military coups in less than 18 months, beginning with Mali in August 2020, then Guinea in September 2021.

It is the latest bout of political turmoil to strike Burkina Faso, which has had little stability since gaining independence from France in 1960.

UN chief Antonio Guterres lashed coups as "unacceptable", saying "democratic societies are a value that must be preserved".

"The role of the military must be to defend their countries and their peoples, not to attack their governments and to fight for power," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the coup and called for the immediate release of the ousted president.

France has committed thousands of troops to shoring up former colonies Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali -- three of the world's poorest countries -- in the face of a brutal jihadist offensive.

The West African bloc ECOWAS, which includes Burkina, held a special summit, issuing a statement "firmly" condemning the putsch. Britain and South Africa also joined the chorus of criticism.

The G5 Sahel, an anti-jihadist alliance that includes Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, slammed what it called an "attempt to disrupt the constitutional order" in its fifth member Burkina Faso.

State TV RTB published a handwritten letter on social media Monday that it said was written by Kabore, purportedly saying that he was stepping down "in the higher interests of the nation".

The letter could not be independently verified, but ECOWAS confirmed that Kabore had resigned, and said this was "under threat, intimidation and pressure from soldiers after two days of mutiny".

The whereabouts of Kabore, Prime Minister Lassina Zerbo and other senior officials are unknown.

The junta said "the operations (to overthrow Kabore) unfolded without bloodshed and without any physical violence towards the persons arrested, who are being held in a secure place with respect for their dignity".

- Bloody attacks on forces -

Kabore's downfall came amid deepening anger at the government's failure to stem Burkina Faso's security crisis.

Armed Islamists began launching cross-border raids from Mali in 2015, overwhelming the country's poorly trained and badly equipped armed forces.

Around 2,000 people have died, according to an AFP tally. In a country of 21 million, some 1.5 million people are internally displaced, according to the national emergency agency CONASUR.

Bloody attacks on the army, police and a volunteer civilian militia mounted throughout 2021, and accounts of negligence or indifference by top commanders sparked particular anger.

On Saturday, police used tear gas to disperse banned protests, arresting dozens.

The following day, troops began to mutiny in numerous barracks, and Kabore was toppled on Monday.

Kabore was elected in 2015, pitching himself as a beacon of hope after the long reign of strongman Blaise Compaore, who came to power in a putsch in 1987.

Burkina Faso: from popular uprising to military coup
Paris (AFP) Jan 25, 2022 - As Burkina Faso's junta consolidates its position after seizing power in a coup, we look at the recent history of the troubled West African country.

- 2014: Fall of Compaore -

Blaise Compaore takes power in a 1987 coup and cements his position four years later with the first of four election victories. But his 2010 win is contested, as is his attempt to amend the constitution to extend his rule. After being forced out by street protests in 2014, he flees to Ivory Coast. On November 29, 2015, former prime minister Roch Marc Christian Kabore is elected president.

- 2015: Jihadist attacks -

From 2015, the north of the country, the capital Ouagadougou and the east begin to suffer attacks and kidnappings by jihadists affiliated to Al-Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State.

On January 15, 2016, an attack on the Splendid hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou leave 30 dead, most of them Westerners, shocking the country.

In November 2017, the French-backed G5 anti-jihadist force starts joint cross-border operations in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

- 2018: Attacks intensify

On March 2, 2018, simultaneous attacks target French forces and the former colonial power's embassy, leaving eight soldiers dead and 85 people injured.

The end of that year sees a state of emergency declared in several provinces.

From 2019, the attacks become almost daily, prompting the sacking of the head of the armed forces and formation of a new government.

On December 24, 42 people die in an attack by 200 jihadists on a military base in Arbinda, near the border with Mali.

- 2020: Kabore re-elected -

Kabore is re-elected on November 22, 2020, but insecurity means hundreds of thousands of people are unable to vote.

The opposition accuse the president of election fraud and refuse to recognise the result.

- 2021: Death toll soars -

Between 132 and 160 people are killed in a June 2021 raid on the northeastern village of Solhan in the worst attack in six years.

The killings spark demonstrations against insecurity and the ministers of defence and security are both fired.

On August 18, an attack in the north leaves 65 civilians and 15 police dead.

In October the president replaces the military chief of staff. A trial also begins into the killing 34 years earlier of charismatic former president Thomas Sankara, the "African Che Guevara". Compaore, the main accused, is not present.

On November 14, at least 57 people, 53 of them gendarmes, are massacred in an assault on a police station at Inata in the north, sparking further protests.

Burkinabe and Niger military say they eliminated around 100 "terrorists" during an operation on their common border between November 25 and December 9.

- Government reshuffle -

December 8, the prime minister resigns and hands the reins to Lassina Zerbo, who urges national unity.

On December 23, 41 people are killed in yet another jihadist attack in the north.

The past month sees n a further spate of attacks and rumblings of discontent in the ranks of the armed forces echoing those in the wider population.

- 2022: Military takeover -

On January 22, police in Ouagadougou clash with demonstrators at a banned protest over the government's handling of the jihadist threat.

The following day soldiers at several army barracks stage a revolt but the government denies a coup is under way.

On Monday, Kabore is arrested by mutinous soldiers after gunshots are heard near his private residence.

A group of officers later go on television to announce that the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (MPSR) -- the name of a junta led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba -- is in control.

The United Nations, France and regional bloc ECOWAS all condemn the coup.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Kabore, Burkina's consensus-builder and onetime beacon of hope
Ouagadougou (AFP) Jan 24, 2022
Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, overthrown in a military coup on Monday, was once seen as embodying hopes for change and development in a West African nation now under siege from jihadists. The impoverished Sahel state of 21 million people placed its hopes in the affable consensus-building Kabore when voters first elected him in 2015, a year after a popular insurrection toppled strongman Blaise Compaore. However, it was also in 2015 when armed jihadist groups started to launch ... read more