July 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Former Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaoré, sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 1987 assassination of revolutionary leader and icon of Pan-Africanism Thomas Sankara, has apologized to the family of his predecessor.
“I apologize to the people of Burkina Faso for all the acts I may have committed during my mandate and, more particularly, to the family of my brother and friend Thomas Sankara,” he said in a letter sent to the Burkinabe president, Lieutenant Colonel Paul -Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
In this sense, Compaoré claims to deplore from the bottom of his heart “all the suffering and drama experienced by all the victims” during his term as head of the country, for which he has asked the families of those affected for forgiveness, as indicates in a letter collected by the Infowakat news portal.
The former president of Burkina Faso returned to the country a few weeks ago at the invitation of the military junta that governs the country within the framework of national reconciliation and after spending seven years in exile in the Ivory Coast after being overthrown in 2014 by a wave of mobilizations and popular protests.
Compaoré was sentenced in absentia and found guilty of “complicity” in the murder of Sankara. Along with him, his former head of security, Hyancinte Kafando, and his former chief of staff, Gilbert Diendéré, were also sentenced to life in prison.
Sankara, known as the “African Che Guevara” was assassinated after the coup led by Compaoré along with twelve officers and his body was dismembered and buried in an anonymous grave. His figure continues to be greatly respected in the country and on the continent for his fight against colonialism and his pan-Africanism.
The coup d’état was perpetrated after a military mutiny in protest against insecurity and the lack of means to confront jihadism, which is why the soldiers demanded the resignation of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and other high-ranking members of the security forces. .
The African country has generally experienced a significant increase in attacks since 2015, the work of both the Al Qaeda affiliate and the Islamic State affiliate in the region. These attacks have also contributed to an increase in inter-community violence and have caused self-defense groups to flourish.
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