Captain Ibrahim Traore of the Burkina Faso army has deposed military leader Paul-Henri Damiba and dissolved the government in the West African country’s second coup in eight months; he said in a statement on national television on Friday evening.
Traore stated that a group of officers who assisted Damiba in seizing power in January had decided to depose him due to his inability to deal with an escalating Islamist insurgency.Damiba deposed former President Roch Kabore in January for similar reasons.
Traore stated that the constitution has been suspended and the transitional charter has been dissolved, that borders have been closed indefinitely, and that all political and civil society activities have been halted. He imposed a curfew from 2100 to 0500 GMT.
“Faced with the deteriorating situation, we tried several times to persuade Damiba to refocus the transition on the security question,” said a statement signed by Traore and read out on television by another officer, flanked by a group of soldiers dressed in military fatigues and heavy armour.
According to the statement, Damiba rejected officer proposals to reorganize the army and instead maintained the military structure that led to the previous regime’s demise.
“Damiba’s actions gradually convinced us that his ambitions were diverting our attention away from the task at hand. We decided to get rid of Damiba today “It stated.
According to the statement, national stakeholders will be invited soon to adopt a new transitional charter and name a new civilian or military president.