Ousted Burkina Faso chief denies taking refuge at French navy base

Burkina Faso’s deposed chief has denied stories he’s hiding out at a French navy base as supporters of the coup, some waving Russian flags, took to the streets and attacked the French embassy.

Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was ousted on Friday evening by military captain Ibrahim Traoré, the second coup in eight months in a rustic wracked by a jihadi insurgency.

Damiba’s whereabouts have been unclear since Thursday when he visited the northern city of Djibo to handle troopers within the aftermath of a jihadi assault.

Traoré’s officers mentioned on state tv this weekend that the ousted president was on the French navy base the place he was planning a comeback.

“I formally deny having taken refuge within the French base of Kamboincé,” Damiba mentioned in an announcement on the presidency’s official Fb web page.

“I name on Captain Traoré and firm to return to their senses to keep away from a fratricidal battle which Burkina Faso doesn’t want on this context,” he added.

The French embassy within the capital of Ouagadougou additionally denied any hyperlinks to Damiba. “France formally denies any involvement within the occasions beneath method since yesterday in Burkina Faso. The camp the place the French forces are situated has by no means hosted Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, nor has our embassy.”

Some former French colonies within the area have clashed with Paris as they’ve constructed nearer relations with Moscow. Supporters of the most recent coup took to the streets, with TV stories exhibiting a few of them waving Russian flags. A French cultural institute in Bobo-Dioulasso, the nation’s second-largest metropolis, was additionally attacked.

French officers condemned the “violent acts” dedicated towards its diplomatic outposts and mentioned it was urging all its residents within the nation to train vigilance amid the unrest.

Worldwide and regional our bodies condemned the brand new coup. The African Union, in an announcement, expressed “deep concern” over the takeover and urged Burkina Faso leaders to stay to an settlement reached in July for a democratic transition by July 2024 on the newest.

Damiba swept to energy in January on the again of common assist amongst Burkina Faso’s 21mn individuals as he ousted the democratically elected president Roch Kaboré. He vowed to defeat the al-Qaeda and Isis-linked teams that had ravaged a lot of the nation amid mounting frustration from residents and troopers.

However Damiba couldn’t get a foothold towards the terrorists as violence surged and terrorists gained extra floor. Analysts say terrorist actors are lively in 10 of the nation’s 13 areas. The assault on the convoy heading to Djibo that killed 11 troopers and left many civilians lacking and presumed useless precipitated the most recent coup after months of pressure within the navy.

Teams linked to al-Qaeda and Isis have been wreaking havoc within the Sahel, an arid area encompassing Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and lots of different international locations in north and west Africa since 2012.

The violence and governments’ incapacity to attain decisive victories towards perpetrators have made coups enticing to populations bored with the crises. Previously two years, coups have taken place in Guinea, Chad and twice in Mali the place a bunch of officers first deposed an elected president earlier than overthrowing the transitional authorities that changed him.

The coups in Mali have led to a breakdown of the connection between the west African nation and France, its former colonial energy. France has withdrawn its peacekeeping Operation Barkhane troops and Niger has stopped gasoline shipments to Mali.

Russia’s Wagner Group, a non-public navy firm identified for working in battle hotspots together with Syria and the battle in Ukraine, and based by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, has been deployed to help Malian forces. They’ve been accused of human rights violations in Mali and the Central African Republic.