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Burkina Faso’s Self-Proclaimed Leader Tries to Reassure Country In Burkina Faso, the Man Who Once Led a Coup Is Ousted by One
(about 2 hours later)
DAKAR, Senegal — Burkina Faso’s self-proclaimed military leader said on Sunday that the uncertain situation affecting the West African nation since mutinying soldiers announced a coup on Friday was “under control,” but stopped short of announcing that the ousted leader had resigned. DAKAR, Senegal — The army officer who seized power over Burkina Faso in a coup in January conceded on Sunday that he too had been ousted by mutinying soldiers, capping two days of unrest and plunging the West African country again into uncertainty about its political future.
The statement read on national television by the self-proclaimed leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré, was the latest development in the unrest that has rocked Burkina Faso, a country of 21 million that has endured two coups in eight months. Protests erupted on Saturday against the deposed leader, Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who refused to relinquish power and warned of a “fratricidal war” if Captain Traoré did not back down. Lt.-Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who has led the junta ruling the country since the January coup, officially resigned on Sunday after the military assured his security, religious and community leaders acting as mediators said in a statement.
In his statement, Captain Traoré also urged protesters in Ouagadougou, the capital, to stop acts of vandalism against the French Embassy, which was attacked on Saturday and again on Sunday morning. The resignation appeared to end two days of fighting in the capital, Ouagadougou, between factions loyal to Colonel Damiba and the man who has now replaced him, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré.
Captain Traoré had accused France, the country’s former colonial power, of helping Colonel Damiba stage a comeback. The French Foreign Ministry denied any involvement, and Captain Traoré later walked back his comments. Captain Traoré was designated as president until a transitional leader could be named, according to a statement read on national television. No timeline was provided.
But an hour after Captain Traoré called for calm on Sunday, dozens of protesters showed no will of stopping and took down some razor wire from the walls of the French Embassy, according to videos shared on social media. No security forces from Burkina Faso could be seen around the embassy. A poor, landlocked West African nation of 21 million, Burkina Faso has faced a mounting insurgency led by extremists affiliated with Islamist groups that has displaced nearly 10 percent of its population and killed scores of civilians.
In fact, as Captain Traoré left national television headquarters around midday Sunday in a black pickup, shouts of “Merci” and “Our President” could be heard, putting forth a message: France — which has special forces at a camp on the outskirts of the capital — had to leave. This weekend’s coup began on Friday when military officers accused Colonel Damiba of failing to sufficiently contain the Islamist insurgency. Colonel Damiba initially refused to relinquish power and, in a post to Facebook on Friday, warned of a “fratricidal war” if Captain Traoré did not back down.
“Traoré should issue a note ordering France to quit Burkina Faso now,” said Seydou Zongo, a protester who said he was unemployed. The post left many confused over who was actually in charge, but by Sunday the message had been deleted and Captain Traoré declared that the situation was “under control.” As he left the headquarters of the national television network on Sunday, protesters shouting “Merci” and “Our President” urged Captain Traoré to seek a new international partner in the country’s fight against Islamist insurgents: Russia.
It felt as if history were repeating itself: After Colonel Damiba took power in January, Russian flags were unfurled in Ouagadougou and protesters called for the new military leader to reject a long-lasting French influence. “No to France, and Traoré should travel to Russia soon,” said Roland Ouedraogo, a protester who was demonstrating in front of the French Embassy on Sunday.
Even as Colonel Damiba said over his eight-month tenure that he was seeking new partners and met with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, last month at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, factions of the military saw him as too close to France. Across Western African countries, an anti-French sentiment has emerged in recent years, and Burkina Faso now seems to epitomize that frustration. Captain Traoré had accused France, the country’s former colonial power, of helping Colonel Damiba stage a comeback and protecting him at the its embassy or at a base where French special forces are posted. The French Foreign Ministry denied it was hosting Colonel Damiba in any of those locations, and Captain Traoré later retracted his comments.
But France has no heightened presence in Burkina Faso — unlike in Mali, where in August it ended a nine-year military operation that failed to stop an Islamist insurgency — and there was no reinforced partnership under Colonel Damiba’s leadership.
Still, Roland Ouedraogo, a protester who was demonstrating on Sunday in front of the French Embassy, said: “We want to change partners. No to France, and Traoré should travel to Russia soon.”
Confusion began in Burkina Faso early Friday morning, when gunfire rang out around the presidential palace. By the end of the day, a group of officers had announced on national television that Captain Traoré was the country’s new leader, accusing Colonel Damiba of failing to crush extremists who have blockaded towns in the country’s north and east, attacked security forces, and killed scores of civilians.
Just eight months earlier, Colonel Damiba had taken power and ousted the civilian, democratically elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, for similar reasons. In Ouagadougou, it felt as if history was on an eight-month loop: After Colonel Damiba took power in January, Russian flags were unfurled in the capital and protesters called for the then-new leader to reject the country’s ties to France.
Colonel Damiba argued that a military leader would be better positioned to lead a war against Islamist insurgents, but during his tenure, the security situation worsened on many fronts, analysts say. A wave of anti-French sentiment has spread across West Africa in recent years, and some factions of Burkina Faso’s military felt Colonel Damiba was too close to France.
In the short term, the coup is likely to worsen a dire security and humanitarian situation in Burkina Faso, where nearly 10 percent of the population has been displaced because of violence carried out by extremists, many of them linked to Islamist groups. France has no heightened presence in Burkina Faso — unlike in Mali, where in August it ended a nine-year military operation that failed to stop an Islamist insurgency — and there was no reinforced partnership under Colonel Damiba’s leadership.
All humanitarian operations had been suspended as of Saturday, and humanitarian aircraft immobilized, according to Tom Peyre-Costa, a spokesman for the Norwegian Refugee Council in West and Central Africa. Still, Seydou Zongo, a protester who was demonstrating on Sunday in front of the French Embassy, said: “Traoré should issue a note ordering France to quit Burkina Faso now, and he should call Putin and his special envoys. We’re firmly waiting for them.”
The coup was almost unanimously condemned by regional and international organizations like the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union, as well as countries like France and the United States.
In the short term, this weekend’s coup is likely to worsen a dire security and humanitarian situation in Burkina Faso, where nearly 10 percent of the population has been displaced because of violence carried out by Islamist extremists.
International aid operations were suspended as of Saturday, and relief aircraft grounded, according to Tom Peyre-Costa, a spokesman for the Norwegian Refugee Council in West and Central Africa.
The coup was almost unanimously condemned by regional and international organizations like the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union.
The United States called “on those responsible to de-escalate the situation, prevent harm to citizens and soldiers, and return to a constitutional order,” according to a statement on Saturday from the State Department’s spokesman, Ned Price.
As of Sunday, Russia had not commented on the coup.As of Sunday, Russia had not commented on the coup.
But Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, an associate of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and founder of the Wagner Group, a shadowy private military company that has fought on Russia’s side in the war in Ukraine and with the armies of Mali and the Central African Republic, on Saturday praised the power grab by Captain Traoré. But Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, an associate of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the founder of Wagner Group, a shadowy military contractor that has fought for Russia in Ukraine and with the armies of Mali and the Central African Republic, on Saturday praised the power grab by Captain Traoré.
And a pro-Kremlin analyst who appears frequently on state television said that “our people helped the new leader.” The analyst, Sergei Markov, could not be reached for comment. A senior French official, who asked not to be named because he was not allowed to comment on developments in Burkina Faso, said there was no clear evidence that Russia or Wagner Group were involved in the weekend’s coup.
Oumar Zombre contributed reporting from Ouagadougou, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.