The leader of the Burkina Faso junta calls for calm and confirms “talks” with the “mobilized” military

Sep. 30 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The leader of the Burkina Faso junta and the country’s transitional president, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, called for calm this Friday and stressed that “talks are underway” with the military mobilized in the capital, Ouagadougou, amid speculation of a riot.

The Burkinabe Presidency has indicated in a brief statement on its official account on the social network Facebook that Damiba asks the population “great caution” and “remain calm” in the face of the “confusing situation created by the mobilization of certain elements of the Armed Forces nationals in Ouagadougou”.

“There are talks underway to restore calm and tranquility,” he said, without giving details about the demands of those mobilized. “The enemy that attacks our country wants division among the Burkinabe to achieve its destabilizing objective,” she concluded, referring to the attacks by jihadist groups.

Shortly before, government sources quoted by the British television network BBC have spoken of a mutiny and have indicated that the authorities are negotiating with those involved. For his part, a member of the special forces has said in statements to the Burkina Faso portal Infowakat that the mobilized want “a true war chief who will liberate the country.”

The mobilization of soldiers has taken place after an explosion in the vicinity of the capital’s airport, while witnesses quoted by the magazine ‘Jeune Afrique’ have indicated that the shots have also been fired near the Presidential Palace and the Baba Sy base, Damiba’s headquarters.

The country has been controlled by a military junta since January after Damiba’s coup against the then president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, following a military mutiny protesting insecurity and the lack of means to confront jihadism.

Burkina Faso has generally experienced a significant increase in insecurity since 2015, with attacks by both the Al Qaeda affiliate and the Islamic State affiliate, causing a wave of internally displaced persons and refugees to other countries in the region.