Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso's ruling military junta sacks prime minister, dissolves govt

Burkina Faso's ruling military junta issued a decree on Friday dismissing Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela and announcing the dissolution of the national government. The military's leader, Ibrahim Traore, said officials in the dissolved government will continue to perform their duties until a new government is formed. No reason was given for the move. The junta in Burkina Faso seized power in September 2022 by ousting the military rule of Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba about eight months after it staged a coup to remove democratically elected President Roch Marc Kabor. The country is one of several West African nations where the military has recently taken over, capitalising on popular discontent with previous democratically elected governments over security issues. However, since its inception, the junta has struggled to end Burkina Faso's security challenges the very reason that it claimed had prompted it to take power. Growing attacks by extremists lin

Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso withdraw from West Africa's regional bloc

Three West African nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have withdrawn from the regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS, their respective juntas announced Sunday, accusing the bloc of inhumane sanctions to reverse the coups in their nations. The juntas said in a joint statement read on state television that they have decided in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), alleging that the bloc has moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism after nearly 50 years of its establishment. Furthermore, ECOWAS, under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to its member states and its populations whose happiness it is supposed to ensure, their statements read. It is the latest twist in a series of events that have deepened political tension in West Africa since it experienced its latest of a string of coups in Niger

Protesters attack French Embassy in Burkina Faso's capital after coup

Angry protesters attacked the French Embassy in Burkina Faso's capital on Saturday after supporters of the West African nation's new coup leader accused France of harboring the ousted interim president, a charge French authorities vehemently denied. Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba was overthrown late Friday only nine months after he'd mounted a coup himself in Burkina Faso, which has been failing to effectively counter rising violence by Islamic extremists. Comments by a new junta spokesman earlier Saturday set into motion an outburst of anger in Ouagadougou, the capital. Video on social media showed residents with lit torches outside the perimeter of the French embassy. Damiba's whereabouts remained unknown but France's Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement: We formally deny involvement in the events unfolding in Burkina Faso. The camp where the French forces are based has never hosted Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba nor has our embassy. Capt. Ibrahim Traore, who was

Security fears grow in Burkina Faso after attacks from extremists

As Islamic extremists intensified their attacks in Burkina Faso earlier this year, coup leader Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba urged the West African nation's people to give him until September to improve things as interim president. A group of junior officers held him to just that Friday evening: calling his time up in a new coup launched on the last day of the month. Concerns already were mounting Saturday, though, that the latest political volatility would further distract the military and allow the jihadis to strengthen their grip on growing swaths of the once peaceful country. Burkina Faso's new junta leadership announced on state television that it will effectively restart the clock on the road back to democracy, erasing much of the recent diplomacy between Burkina Faso and the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS. The Damiba administration had only just reached common ground with ECOWAS, agreeing to a transition timeline in July, said Eric Humphery-Smith, senior ..

Attacks in Burkina Faso capital near French embassy, military HQ

Burkina Faso is one of a string of fragile countries on the southern rim of the Sahara that are battling jihadist groups

Burkina Faso attack: Islamic extremists open fire at restaurant, 18 killed

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence

Burkina Faso halts massive donkey meat exports to Asia

Donkey meat is popular amongst some communities in Burkina Faso, but exports of the animal's meat and hides have soared in recent years, mostly to China