Burkina Faso – The junta leader in Burkina Faso has come in the limelight of media and made a formal statement that the country will return to constitutional order when conditions are right. The military leader Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba said that “When the conditions are right, according to the deadline that our people will define in all sovereignty, I commit to a return to a normal constitutional order.” The self-styled army had disposed off the government, its constitution and President Roch Marc Kabore on the pretext of a deteriorating security condition in the country.
The takeover happened by a previously unknown group – Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR). Somewhere troubled by jihadist interference and unrest, the self-styled army decided to take control of the country.
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In his mind, he is working as a messiah. Damiba has been quoted speaking to the local illiterate population and promising them a better life. Farmers, herders and people across the West African Sahel nation affected by violence from militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State include the most vulnerable of the lot. He has confirmed that he would take back control of those zones. He said security would be a priority.
Damiba’s speech came before a planned emergency summit of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday to discuss how to respond to the coup. ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Burkina Faso’s neighbour Mali and Guinea following military takeovers in August 2020 and September 2021, respectively. Burkina Faso’s economic and security conditions have been heavily compromised due to extremist activities that led to night curfews and closure of the airport as well. Despair at the continuous violence since 2015, despite the significant military presence of former colonial ruler France, has also fuelled anger.