Just eight months after the latest coup, the military staged a new coup in Burkina Faso in West Africa.
According to local media, yesterday evening the president,
Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, was relieved of his duties:
the new rulers announced this in a speech given on state television RTB.
Burkina Faso is now led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré of the Burkinabe Armed Forces, it was explained.
The interim parliament was reportedly dissolved and the constitution suspended:
the country's borders would be closed for the time being, with a curfew imposed until 5am.
The previous president Denimba had said in the past few hours that he was conducting negotiations with his "brothers" in the armed forces and had invited the population to remain calm
.
Moreover, groups of soldiers in central positions in the capital Ouagadougou had been seen since the early hours of the morning: the military had also blocked access to the Presidential Palace while in the evening gunshots were heard in the capital.
Armed units also surrounded the headquarters of the television and radio station RTB.
Last January the military took power, announcing that they wanted to give greater security to a country that has seen an unstable political and humanitarian situation for many years.
Armed groups, some of which belong to the Islamic State terrorist group or the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, are active in the area as well as in neighboring Mali and Niger.
Despite the rich gold deposits, Burkina Faso has long suffered the consequences of drought and famine
.
The security situation has recently worsened, putting pressure on the Damiba-led transitional government.
In September, there were two serious attacks on supply convoys in the north of the country, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of soldiers and civilians.
Handle
Burkina Faso, demonstrations under the presidential palace of Ouagadougou