Concerns are mounting in Burkina Faso that the West African nation's latest coup will only further set back the fight against Islamic extremists.
Young men chant slogans against the power of Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba, against France and pro-Russia, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday Sept. 30, 2022. Residents say gunfire rang out early in the morning and the state broadcaster has gone off the air, fueling fears that another coup is underway. The developments Friday come just after coup leader-turned-president, Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, returned from a trip to the U.N. General Assembly.
“ECOWAS finds this new power grab inappropriate at a time when progress has been made,” the bloc said, citing the recent agreement Damiba had made to return to constitutional order by July 2024. But it remains to be seen whether the junta can turn around the crisis. Concerns already were mounting Saturday, though, that the latest political volatility would further distract the military and allow the jihadis to strengthen their grip on growing swaths of the once peaceful country.
“Faced by the continually worsening security situation, we, the officers and junior officers of the national armed forces, were motivated to take action with the desire to protect the security and integrity of our country,” said the Friday statement read by junta spokesman Capt. Kiswendsida Farouk Azaria Sorgho.
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