France ‘strongly denies’ any involvement of the French military in a counter-offensive plan believed to be by the leader that toppled Damiba.
Military officers in power in Burkina Faso said overthrow military leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is planning a counterattack from a “French base”.
Gunfire rang out Saturday in the capital Ouagadougou amid tensions that lasted a day after officers ousted the man who had seized power in a coup just nine months earlier.
“[Damiba] is believed to have been hiding in the French base in Kamboinsin to plan a counter-attack to stir up our defense and security forces,” the coup d’etats said in a statement read on national television. and signed by Captain Ibrahim Traore, the country’s new leader.
France, the former colonial power in Burkina Faso, has denied the allegation. An hour before military figures commented on television, the French embassy issued a statement “firmly denying any French military involvement in the events of the past few hours”.
The embassy also denied “rumors that the Burkinabe government has been presided over or is being protected by the French military”.
A fire was seen at the French embassy in the capital Burkina Faso and several shots were heard as protesters took to the streets.
Traore was previously the head of the special forces unit “Cobra” in the northern Kaya region. Meanwhile, Damiba’s whereabouts remain a mystery.
Burkina Faso, the army chief of staff, called on the opposing factions to end hostilities and resume negotiations, calling the situation “an internal crisis within the National Armed Forces”.
‘Finding Dialogue’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the seizure of power and called on “all parties to refrain from violence and seek dialogue,” his spokesman said in a statement.
“Burkina Faso needs peace, stability and unity to combat terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country,” it said.
Damiba came to power in a coup in January. He made himself the leader of the country of 16 million people after accusing President-elect Roch Marc Christian Kabore of failing to repel armed groups.
With much of the Sahel region battling a growing insurgency, the violence has led to a series of coups in Mali, Guinea and Chad since 2020.
France has a military presence in Burkina Faso, with a task force stationed at Kamboinsin, 30 km (19 mi) from Ouagadougou.
Stressful situation
The situation in Ouagadougou was tense on Saturday. Helicopters hovered over the city and the shops that were open for business in the morning were closed.
European Union and African Union (AU) added their voices to a chorus of global condemnation of the second coup this year in the poor and resilient West African nation.
“The President urges the military to immediately and completely refrain from any Violent behavior or threats to civil liberties, civil liberties, human rights,” the AU said in a statement.
The junior officers who overthrew Damiba say he has failed to stop attacks by armed groups in the country.
On Friday, pre-dawn gunfire broke out around the presidential palace. Within hours, dozens of exhausted soldiers appeared on state television and radio to announce Damiba’s removal.
The new leaders quickly suspended the constitution, sealed the borders, dissolved the transitional government and legislative assembly, and instituted a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
