Burkina Faso’s Government Dissolved As Army Captain Takes Charge In Second Coup

In the second coup attempt in eight months, Burkina Faso military leader Paul-Henri Damiba was ousted on Friday due to the degrading security situation in the country, with the new military intervention planned to address the security problems in the country.

Military official Kiswendsida Farouk Azaria Sorgho and his men appeared on television on Friday to announce the dissolution of the transitional government led by Damiba as well as the suspension of the Constitution, due to their belief that Damiba has not done well in addressing the escalating security problems of the country in the past few months, according to CNN.

This was the second coup attempt in Burkina Faso in eight months, with the first coup attempt happening in January when Damiba deposed President Roch Kabore, also due to the escalating security problems that he believed was not addressed well, Al Jazeera reported.

“People of Burkina Faso, faced with the degradation of the security situation, we have attempted several times to refocus the transition on the issue of security,” Sorgho said. “The risky choices of Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba have increasingly weakened our security apparatus.”

“We have decided to take our responsibilities, driven by a single ideal: the restoration of security and integrity of our territory,” the soldiers announced, making their intentions clear.

Army Captain Ibrahim Traore will now take over as the leader of the country’s military junta, as he attempts to address the ever-increasing security problems plaguing Burkina Faso. It is unclear what has happened to Damiba.

The country has been a victim of an increasing trend of violence in the Sahel region in West Africa, with attacks increasing in the north and eastern sides of the country since March. It is estimated that over 40% of the country is ungovernable because of gunmen in motorbikes attacking the villages.

The rebel groups attacking the area include groups that are associated with known terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Damiba had attempted to address the security problems head-on, even assuming the role of defense secretary in September to better address it. Still, the problem remains, and many are worried as to how the instability of the government may not help address these security problems in the future.

“Burkina Faso needs peace, it needs stability, and it needs unity in order to fight terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country,” the United Nations said in a statement.

“There’s a feeling – when I speak to people who are on the streets of Ouagadougou – of deja vu,” Nicolas Haque, an Al-Jazeera journalist, said.