Hundreds of young people demonstrated today in the center of Ouagadougou, the Burkina Faso capital, and other cities in the country to show their support for the military.
The military junta that leads Burkina Faso after the coup d’état carried out this Monday received popular support today in the streets of the country, despite the condemnation of the international community, who condemned the breakdown of the constitutional order and demanded the release of the deposed Burkinabe president, Roch Kaboré.
Hundreds of young people demonstrated today in the center of Ouagadougou, the Burkina Faso capital, and other cities in the country to show their support for the military.
With signs reading “Down with France” or “Long live the Army”, the protesters gathered in the Plaza de la Nación in Ouagadougou, which since this morning presented a festive air with dances, songs, shouts and the sound of whistles, after this Monday the military rebels since last Sunday confirmed on state television that they had taken power.
“We are here to express our solidarity and support for the Burkinabe Army (…)”, a protester told the local media Faso7, indicating that President Kaboré, in power since 2015, has been “incompetent” to manage the threat of jihadist terrorism and “incapable” of responding to the aspirations of the Burkinabe people.
“We don’t trust politicians (…). We know who he is (the coup leader, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba) and he knows who we are, he knows the terrain (…). We have confidence in our military and we are with them”, assured Faso7 a militant of the citizen movement “Save Burkina Faso”.
Demonstrations in favor of the military have also taken place in other cities in the country, such as Ouahigouya (north) or Kaya (central-north).
international condemnation
But while Burkinabe citizens celebrate the coup, which occurred after months of social unrest over jihadist insecurity, the international community has condemned the military’s seizure of power.
In a statement, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) today “firmly condemned this military coup that marks a considerable democratic setback for Burkina Faso.”
He also reported that in the coming days he will hold an extraordinary summit to examine the situation, without specifying any date.
The G5 Sahel regional military coalition (Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad) declared this Tuesday that the coup may “jeopardize the democratic achievements in this member country of the organization”.
French President Emmanuel Macron also today condemned the military rebellion and assured that he has been informed that the physical integrity of President Kaboré is not threatened.
The UN and the European Union also expressed their rejection, and the United States demanded a return to constitutional order and warned that it will review its foreign aid to the African country if the situation does not calm down soon.
Among the first actions of the coup plotters, who have dissolved the Government and Parliament and suspended the Constitution, These include the reestablishment of the internet connection (restricted by the deposed government) and the opening of air and land borders for humanitarian vehicles from this Tuesday.
In addition, Damiba met today with the military hierarchy as well as with the general secretaries of the ministerial departments, who were ordered by the military junta that now governs the country, the so-called Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration (MPSR), to take charge of the current affairs of the ministries.
Resignation under threat
Meanwhile, uncertainty remains about the whereabouts of the deposed president who, according to military sources, was detained and arrested in a barracks on Monday and, according to Gendarmerie sources, is under their protection.
In his appearance on Monday night on RTB state television, a spokesman for the MPSR assured that “the detained persons are in a safe place and respecting their dignity”, but they did not specify if Kaboré is among those arrested.
After announcing the coup plotters who had overthrown the president, the RTB posted a handwritten letter of Kaboré’s resignation on its Facebook social network account.
Hours earlier, the deposed head of state had requested on his Twitter social network account to lay down arms to the military for “the best interest of the nation.”
In its statement today, ECOWAS noted that his resignation had been obtained “under threat, intimidation and pressure from the military.”
The coup was confirmed this Monday after living on Sunday a tense situation due to the shooting in several military barracks from Ouagadougou and other cities, incidents initially described as a supposed riot to demand improvements in the Armed Forces.
Sunday’s situation was preceded on Saturday by a day of unauthorized demonstrations, called by civil society to express the great social discontent, increased in recent months, due to the insecurity generated by jihadist violence, and to demand Kaboré’s resignation.
Burkina Faso has suffered from jihadism since 2015 and the attacks, which are attributed to groups allied to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, have caused more than 1.5 million internally displaced persons, according to the Burkina Faso government.
The coup in Burkina Faso is the fourth in the West African region, after the two in neighboring Mali. (August 2020 and May 2021), a country that also suffers from the scourge of jihadist terrorism; and that of Guinea-Conakry (September 2021). (I)
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