Burkina Faso junta chief resigns after days of uncertainty
The leader of Burkina Faso's junta, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, agreed to resign on Sunday, two days after military officials announced his withdrawal from power. According to religious leaders, it was the leader himself who decided to step down to avoid clashes and serious human consequences.
Damiba's conditions for stepping down included demanding security guarantees for those taking power and a return to civilian rule, a promise he made to ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States. ECOWAS welcomed the resolution of the crisis in Burkina Faso. In a communiqué issued late Sunday, Sissoco Embaló, head of state of Guinea-Bissau and president of ECOWAS, reiterated concern about the situation in the country. "I take particular note of the decision of Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba to resign from his functions as president of the transitional government of Burkina Faso, in order to avoid a violent confrontation and a possible bloodbath," he said.
In a brief address on state-run RTB television, the coup leaders said Traoré "is in charge of dispatching the day-to-day affairs of the state until the swearing-in of the president of Burkina Faso designated by the nation's living forces".
In fact, after being cheered in Ouagadougou by thousands of his compatriots, the captain met with the secretaries-general of the ministries and asked them for continuity in the administration, but at a "faster" pace because "everything is urgent". The unrest that began on Friday sparked riots across the country, Burkina Faso's military junta called for an end to the unrest on Sunday, a day after protesters attacked the French embassy and other buildings following the West African nation's second coup d'état this year.
In a message to the nation on Friday night, the coup leaders accused Damiba of failing to live up to the ideal of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), the name of the junta that seized power in the 24 January coup, by not putting an end to the insecurity caused by jihadist groups. Burkina Faso has suffered frequent jihadist attacks since April 2015, committed by groups linked to both al-Qaeda and Daesh, whose actions particularly affect the north of the country, on the border with Mali, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin and Togo.
The demonstrations against France came after the coup plotters claimed on Saturday that Damiba had taken refuge in "the French base in Kamboinsin to plan a counter-offensive", a claim denied by the lieutenant colonel and the French embassy. Subsequently, the French Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned the acts in a statement, calling on both sides to ensure security. On Saturday night, dozens of videos were reportedly circulated on social networks showing demonstrators throwing objects at the walls of the diplomatic representation, the interior of which is on fire.
Some 2,000 people protested Sunday outside the French embassy in downtown Ouagadougou with slogans such as "Down with France, go home. Long live Russia (Russian mercenaries help neighbouring Mali in the fight against jihadists)" and "Traoré to power", according to Efe news agency. But the insurgency continues and more than 40% of Burkina Faso remains outside the government's control. Thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced by the fighting since 2015, when the insurgency spread into Burkina Faso from neighbouring Mali.