On Friday, part of the military putsch the previous head of the military junta out of office. But where the allegedly fallen Damiba is is unclear. He warns of a civil war. France, meanwhile, rejects allegations of involvement.
The supposedly deposed head of the military junta in Burkina Faso, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, has called on the putschists to see reason. He appealed to the putschists "to come to their senses in order to avoid a civil war that Burkina Faso cannot use," Damiba said, according to a statement published on the official Facebook page of the President's Office.
He dismissed coup plotters' claims that he was planning "a counteroffensive" from a French military base. This is just an attempt to "manipulate public opinion," Damiba explained.
The French embassy in the West African country had previously denied any involvement in the events. Damiba is neither in the diplomatic mission nor at a French military base, the embassy explained - and thus rejected allegations by the new rulers. A representative of the junta had said on state television RTB that Damiba had found shelter at the base. He plans to fight back. Demonstrators reportedly attacked the French embassy.
Eight months after the last coup, part of the military led by Captain Ibrahima Traoré staged another coup on Friday. Where Damiba is staying remained unclear. The new rulers accused him of not wanting to cooperate with "other partners" in the fight against terrorism. It remained unclear who it was about.
According to an employee of the German Press Agency in the capital Ouagadougou, a small group of people took to the streets near the French base on Saturday. They asked the French soldiers to leave the country and assured their support for the putschist leader Traoré. Russian flags could also be seen here and there. Calls for a solidarity demonstration for Traoré were shared on social media, subtitled "Against Damiba and France".
Meanwhile, France's Foreign Ministry "strongly condemned" violence against its diplomatic missions in Burkina Faso. "Any attack on our diplomatic facilities is unacceptable. We call on everyone involved to ensure their security in accordance with international conventions," it said on Saturday evening in Paris. Crisis teams have been set up in the embassy and in the situation center in Paris to monitor the situation. The safety of French nationals is a priority.
The Burkinabe Army General Staff said negotiations are ongoing within the armed forces to defuse tensions. The EU, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regretted the renewed coup d'état and called for a return to the constitutional order to take place by July 2024 at the latest, as planned. The security situation in the Sahel country with around 21 million inhabitants has recently deteriorated, which has increased the pressure on the previous interim government of Damiba.
