PHOTO: Roch Marc Christian Kabore
SOURCE; Gunfire Sparks Fears of Another Coup Attempt in Burkina Faso – allAfrica.com
The government had denied social media reports of a coup following reports of gunfire hours after mutinous soldiers fired weapons at several barracks in the capital, Ouagadougou.
The gunfire sparked fears that another coup attempt was underway after weeks of growing frustration with the government’s handling of the militant insurgency wracking the country.
“Information on social media would have people believe there was an army takeover,” government spokesman Alkassoum Maiga said in a statement. “The government, while acknowledging that there was gunfire in some barracks, denies this information and calls on the public to remain calm.” Frustration over repeated militant attacks, and the government’s inability to curb them, have sparked violent street protests in recent weeks.
Burkina Faso has a long legacy of military intervention. In the first 27 years of independence, Burkinabè soldiers staged five coups d’état and one autogolpe – a military coup initiated or abetted by a country’s elected leader. One resulted in the death of the famed Captain Thomas Sankara. He gave Burkina Faso its name, meaning land of the upright people. The coup saw Sankara’s second-in-command Captain Blaise Compaoré installed as president.