The leader of the military junta of Burkina Faso removes the former transitional president from the Army

MADRID 5 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The leader of the military junta of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, has dismissed 16 senior officials of the Armed Forces, including the former transitional president, Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who led the country until the coup d’état in September 2022.

The lieutenant colonel, who fled to Togo, has been disqualified for “a serious attack on the military dignity and reputation of the Army” due to his “Intelligence actions in favor of a foreign power and terrorist groups” aimed at destabilizing the country.

Another of those dismissed is the former head of the National Gendarmerie, Lieutenant Colonel Évrard Somda, dismissed from his position in October 2023 and arrested for his alleged involvement in a new coup attempt in the country.

The operations commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yves Didier Bamouni, has also been removed from the Army for trying to destabilize Burkina Faso with the support of foreign countries, according to the AIB news agency.

Burkina Faso is governed by a military junta called the Patriotic Movement for Salvation and Restoration (MPSR), since the January 2022 coup against the then president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who months later was removed from power after Traoré’s coup.