Oct. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the new leader of Burkina Faso after the counter-coup he led last Friday in the African country, has assured that the situation is “under control” and has asked the population for calm after last night’s disturbances in front of to the French Embassy in the capital, Ouagadougou.
“Things are gradually returning to normal,” Traoré said in a statement released by a spokesman on Burkina Faso’s national television RTB.
The officer visited this Sunday the headquarters of the national television where, since Friday, Army vehicles and armored vehicles have been parked.
According to Radio France Internationale witnesses, Traoré was cheered by supporters gathered en masse to show their support for the soldier.
The capital now breathes a tense calm after the assault on the French Embassy in the city center. The rioters took to the streets to storm the French diplomatic headquarters, as well as the French military base of Kamboinsin amid reports that the head of the former junta, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, could be in one of these places.
Damiba has denied on Facebook that he is being held at the military facility. “I formally deny having taken refuge in the French base of Kamboinsin and I call on Captain Traoré and company to come to their senses in order to avoid a fratricidal war that Burkina Faso does not need in this context,” he said.
Traoré’s supporters have tried to approach the French Embassy again this morning, but the Burkinabe military have prevented them, according to the Burkina24 portal.
The French Embassy on Saturday categorically denied any involvement in the backlash against Damiba. “In view of the numerous comments that have been made on social networks, the Embassy wishes to categorically deny any involvement of the French army in the events of the last few hours,” the press release reads.
France also denies “the rumors according to which the new Burkinabe authorities have been received by the French military” at some point after the coup or “enjoy their protection.”
