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A Coup Gives Burkina Faso a New Leader For the Second Time In A Year

3 minute read

With less than a month to go before a round of historic elections that promised to set Burkina Faso firmly on the path to a functioning and fair democracy, armed men loyal to a previous president burst into a Sept. 16 cabinet session in the capital, Ouagadougou, and hustled the interim President, the Prime Minister and two ministers into detention as stunned policy makers looked on.

As far as coups go, it doesn’t get much more definitive than that. On Thursday morning a spokesman for the elite Régiment de Sécurité Présidentielle (RSP), a 1,300 strong presidential protection military unit that had been trained, in part, by the United States, read a communiqué on national radio and television. The RSP, said Lt. Col. Mamadou Bamba, had dissolved the government and taken control of the country in the name of the newly formed “National Democratic Council.” It’s the second time in less than a year that Burkina Faso’s government has been upended, sending shockwaves through Western Africa and raising concerns about political stability throughout a region under pressure from militant Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Boko Haram.

In Oct. 2014, then President Blaise Compaoré was ousted by demonstrators incensed by his attempts to amend the constitution in order to prolong his 27-year-long rule. He fled to neighboring Ivory Coast, leaving the land-locked nation in the charge of a transitional government charged with overseeing new elections slated for Oct. 11, 2015. According to the country’s new electoral code, supporters and members of Compaoré’s party would be blocked from participating. Bamba, a loyalist and member of the presidential guard, announced that the National Democratic Council has put an end “to the deviant regime of transition” and that it would oversee a “coherent, fair and equitable process” of elections. Coup leaders later issued a statement that Compaoré’s former Chief of Staff, Gen. Gilbert Diendere, would lead the country in the meantime.

The European Union, the United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and France’s President Francois Hollande immediately condemned the coup and called for the immediate release of Burkina Faso’s interim President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister, Isaac Zida. So far the coup leaders do not seem to be concerned about international opprobrium. Despite calls from Interim Parliamentary speaker Cheriff Sy for residents to “defend the motherland” and to “immediately rise up” in response to the coup, the streets of Ouagadougou were relatively calm Thursday afternoon, after presidential forces opened fire at Revolution Square, where protestors had gathered. A nationwide curfew is now in effect, and the borders are closed.

It’s not the first time that the RSP has attempted to derail a transition that would most certainly curtail its power. In June the unit’s leaders demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Zida, who had publically called for the unit’s dissolution in the interest of national security. On Monday the Reconciliation Commission in charge of the political transition repeated Zida’s call to disband the unit. Coup spokesman Bamba may have justified the RSPs actions by citing electoral laws, but the threat to the unit’s very existence is the most likely trigger for Wednesday’s coup.

Inside Sudan's War-Torn Darfur

Members of the rebel group Sudan Liberation Army led by Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) climb towards the front lines in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015. The mountainous area has been a stronghold of the SLA-AW since the conflict between the neglected population and the Sudanese government broke out in 2003.
Members of the rebel group Sudan Liberation Army led by Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) climb towards the front lines in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015. The mountainous area has been a stronghold of the SLA-AW since the conflict between the neglected population and the Sudanese government broke out in 2003.Adriane Ohanesian
An overhead view from the rebel territory that overlooks the town of Kroun in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015.
An overhead view from the rebel territory that overlooks the town of Kroun in Jebel Marra, Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
Adam Abdel, age 7, is seen on Feb. 27, 2015. He was badly burned after a bomb—said to be dropped by the Sudanese government on Feb. 12—landed next to his family's home in Burgu, Central Darfur, Sudan.
Adam Abdel, age 7, is seen on Feb. 27, 2015. He was badly burned after a bomb—said to be dropped by the Sudanese government on Feb. 12—landed next to his family's home in Burgu, Central Darfur, Sudan.Adriane Ohanesian
Women from the town of Golo wake up in the morning on the side of a mountain where they sleep outside of Kome in Central Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 28, 2015.
Women from the town of Golo wake up in the morning on the side of a mountain where they sleep outside of Kome in Central Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 28, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
After fleeing a ground attack on the town of Golo on Jan. 24, a woman carries a bowl of water up the mountain from where she lives under a tree outside of Kome in Central Darfur, Sudan, Feb. 28, 2015.
After fleeing a ground attack on the town of Golo on Jan. 24, a woman carries a bowl of water up the mountain from where she lives under a tree outside of Kome in Central Darfur, Sudan, Feb. 28, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
HundreHundreds of women and children seek shelter in a cave from the bombing by the Sudanese government's forces outside of the town of Sarong in Central Darfur, Sudan, March 2, 2015. Human rights groups estimate that over 100,000 people have been displaced in Darfur in the first few months of 2015. ds of women and children seek shelter in a cave from the bombing by the Sudanese government's forces outside of the town of Sarong in Central Darfur, Sudan on March 2, 2015.
Hundreds of women and children seek shelter in a cave from the bombing by government forces outside of the town of Sarong in Central Darfur, Sudan, March 2, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
In the early morning, sisters wake up in a cave where they sleep with hundreds of other people whose villages have been destroyed, or who are seeking shelter from bombardment, outside Sarong in Central Darfur, Sudan, March 2, 2015.
In the early morning, sisters wake up in a cave where they sleep with hundreds of other people whose villages have been destroyed, or who are seeking shelter from bombardment, outside Sarong in Central Darfur, Sudan, March 2, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
Rebel soldiers from the Sudan Liberation Army – Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) keep warm by a fire outside their camp in North Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 22, 2015.
Rebel soldiers from the Sudan Liberation Army – Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) keep warm by a fire outside their camp in North Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 22, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
Rebel soldiers from the Sudan Liberation Army – Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) prepare the truck to go for water in the middle of a sand storm in North Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 24, 2015.
Rebel soldiers from the Sudan Liberation Army – Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) prepare the truck to go for water in the middle of a sand storm in North Darfur, Sudan, on Feb. 24, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
Civilians flee their homes with the few belongings they could carry, while members of the SLA-AW walk toward the front lines in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015.
Civilians flee their homes with the few belongings they could carry, while members of the SLA-AW walk toward the front lines in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian
Rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army, led by Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW), defended the top of a mountain from government forces in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015.
Rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army, led by Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW), defended the top of a mountain from government forces in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 4, 2015. Adriane Ohanesian
A body decays out in the open above the abandoned town of Koi that was attacked and burned a week earlier by government forces in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 2, 2015.
A body decays out in the open above the abandoned town of Koi that was attacked and burned a week earlier by government forces in Central Darfur, Sudan, on March 2, 2015.Adriane Ohanesian

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