African Union condemns latest Burkina Faso coup

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (AFP):

The African Union has condemned the “unconstitutional change of government” in Burkina Faso, days after the second coup this year in the impoverished restive West African country.

Junior officers toppled a junta leader on September 30, saying he had failed to fight violent groups in the country.

More than a dozen soldiers appeared on the state television and radio broadcaster to announce the removal of Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

They proclaimed 34-year-old Captain Ibrahim Traore in charge.

“The chairperson calls upon the military to immediately and totally refrain from any acts of violence or threats to the civilian population, civil liberties, human rights,” the AU said in a statement, calling for the restoration of the constitutional order by July 2024.

AU chief Moussa Faki Mahamat said he was deeply concerned about the resurgence of unconstitutional ousters in the West African nation and elsewhere on the continent.

The Economic Community of West African States regional bloc “condemned in the strongest possible terms” the latest seizure of power, calling it “inappropriate” at a time when progress was being made for a return to constitutional order by July 1, 2024.

Burkina Faso’s former colonial ruler France told its citizens in Ouagadougou, believed to number between 4,000 and 5,000, to stay home, while the European Union expressed “concern” at the unfolding events.

The United States called “for a return to calm and restraint by all actors”.

Much of the Sahel region is battling a growing insurgency by militant groups. The violence has prompted a series of coups in Mali, Guinea and Chad since 2020.

In January, Damiba installed himself as leader of the country after accusing elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore of “failing to beat back the jihadists.”