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Is Burkina Faso’s rapprochement with Russia the real motivation for the coup? Does France support Lieutenant Colonel Damiba? These two issues were at the center of the declarations of the military coup leaders who took power on Friday, September 30. Contradictory statements that had an immediate impact, on the ground and in diplomatic circles, on the situation that Burkina Faso has been experiencing for three days.
In a statement read on Saturday, October 1, on national television, the military putschists for the first time invoked the choice of a new ally to justify their coup and accused France of helping Lieutenant Colonel Damiba restore power.
“Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba would have taken refuge in the French base of Kamboisin, to plan a counteroffensive. This is due to our firm desire to turn to other partners willing to help us in our fight against terrorism,” explained 2nd Lieutenant Jean- Baptiste Kabré, reading a statement by Captain Traoré, leader of the putschists.
Russia is not explicitly mentioned, but the message seems clear. Since Friday, Russian flags have been brandished at rallies in support of the coup plotters, and on social media, pro-Russian accounts have commented on the events, with strong anti-French slogans.
“France is not intervening in the events of recent days in Burkina Faso. It is a crisis, an internal situation that evolves, but it is an issue on which France does not have to take sides, nor will it take it,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told RFI.
The categorical denial of Paris, which states that it is not involved or protects Damiba, seems to be of no use: the French embassy in Ouagadougou and the French Institute of Bobo-Dioulasso have been targeted by protesters.
A few hours later, captain Ibrahim Traoré backpedaled on France 24.
“A counter-offensive, yes. With the support of France, I don’t think so. There is a base called Kamboinsin, where there is a French base. When we exfiltrate someone to this base, we say the French military base of Kamboinsin. I know that France cannot interfere directly in our affairs. Today we have other partners who can support us, not necessarily Russia, the Americans are our partners now, we can also have Russia as a partner, so it’s not about France or a problem of Russia and Wagner,” he said Ibrahim Traore.
Are hesitations synonymous with lightness or a deliberate strategy to try to mobilize? In any case, these contradictory statements add to the general vagueness.
In a written message published on the Facebook page of the Burkina Faso presidency, and authenticated by a collaborator of Lieutenant Colonel Damiba, who has not spoken publicly since the coup on Friday, the now former head of the transition denies being a refugee in the camp. of Komboinsin.
“This is nothing more than intoxication to manipulate opinion,” writes Damiba, “I ask Captain Traoré and company to return to reason to avoid a fratricidal war that Burkina Faso does not need.”
“What is very worrying is seeing that a regular army with an agenda, the fight against terrorism, is creating spaces for confrontation. So there is a kind of polarization. The first group, that of Damiba, is criticized for its proximity to France and the other group, which does not specifically name Russia, which asks to change partners”, Thomas Ouedraogo, Executive Director of the Center for Democratic Governance, explains to RFI.
a confusing day
The situation remains uncertain in the capital after a confusing day. The activities of the population of Ouagadougou had resumed their normal course yesterday morning, until around 11:30, the movements of the troops and the shots near the large market created a panic, forcing the merchants to close their shops. and pedestrians to leave the streets.
The United Nations roundabout was completely barricaded by the military, as well as the access roads to the National Radio and Television and the Prime Minister’s Office, while a helicopter flew over the capital. Shots were also heard in the Ouaga 2000 district during the day.
The precarious calm was shattered in the late afternoon, when more shots were fired in the city center and dozens of youths attacked the French embassy, setting fire to the guard posts at the entrance and trying to force their way into the department of visas. The tension eased slightly as night fell.
