Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, president of the junta, took power on Monday January 24 in Burkina Faso.

A field soldier, a specialist in the fight against the jihadists, he is known to have fought in their strongholds in the north and east. 

Aged 41, he is also the author of a book entitled "West African armies and terrorism: uncertain responses?", in which he is critical of the anti-jihadist policies carried out in a region hit hard by the groups. armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

On Monday, he was part of the group of soldiers in uniform who announced on national television that they had seized power and dissolved the country's institutions, but he did not speak, leaving that to Captain Sidsore Kader Ouédraogo.

The press release read by the latter was however signed by his hand, as president of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration (MPSR), the junta which now rules Burkina.

In particular, he denounces "the continuing deterioration of the security situation, which threatens the very foundations of our nation" and "the manifest inability of the authorities" of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré "to unite the Burkinabe to deal effectively with the situation. ".

"He is an example of a good soldier, a good rigorous commander who went to the front with his men", according to a military source who salutes his "dedication".

>>Read: Burkina Faso destabilized by jihadist violence

Specialist in the fight against jihadists

He was trained at the Georges Namoano Military Academy in Po, in southern Burkina Faso, the majority of whose graduates served in the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) the former close guard of Blaise Compaoré, overthrown president in 2014 after a wave of protests.

Infantry Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba was himself a company commander in the RSP from 2003 to 2011, which did not prevent him from opposing the 2015 coup attempt against the transitional authorities of fomented by General Gilbert Diendéré, close to Blaise Compaoré.

It was as regimental corps commander that he had the most fight against the country's jihadist armed groups from 2019 to 2021.

After the massacre, in November 2021 in Inata (north), of 53 gendarmes left to their own devices, which had caused an electric shock within the armed forces, he was appointed commander in Ouagadougou of the 3rd military zone covering the east of the country. country, thanks to a vast change of military leaders brought about by President Kaboré.

The new strong man from Burkina is also a graduate of the military school in Paris.

"He is one of the elites but obtained results on the ground, he directed and commanded a certain number of units", estimates the Burkinabè political analyst Oumarou Paul Koalaga who adds: "They are officers with things in the head".

According to Éditions des 3 Colonnes, which published his book in June 2021, Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba also “holds a master’s degree in criminal sciences from the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (Cnam) in Paris”, as well as “d 'a defense expert certification in management, command and strategy'.

The 3 columns indicate in their presentation of his work, that he "delivers his analysis both on the particularities of West African terrorism, and on the responses provided by the armies of the region before passing a critical judgment on the elements prohibitive of current approaches".

With AFP

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