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Burkina Faso soldiers rebel while government rejects Reuters coup

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© Reuters. People carry a Burkina Faso flag as hundreds gather in downtown Ouagadougou to show their support for the Burkina Faso military in this still image taken from a video from January 23, 2022. REUTERS via TV REUTERS

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Thiam Ndiaga and Anne Mimault

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Burkina Faso’s military camps have been bombed by rebels on Sunday as protesters call for more support for Islamist militants, and protesters have searched President Roch Kabore’s political party headquarters.

The government called for calm, denying speculation that the army had seized power on social media or arrested Kabore.

A spokesman for the insurgents said they were demanding “adequate” resources and training for the military in the fight against al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and the resignation of the army and intelligence chiefs.

Frustration in West Africa’s gold-producing country has risen in recent months as security has deteriorated. The death of 49 military policemen in November led to violent street protests in a militant attack demanding the resignation of Kabor.

On Sunday, protesters marched on the streets of the Ouagadougou capital to protest, “Free the country!”

The uprising underscores the growing threat of Islamist insurgency in a half-arid strip of land beneath the Sahara desert in the Sahel region of West Africa.

Militants have taken control of parts of Burkina Faso and its environs, Mali and Niger. In some cases, the neighbors are forced to abide by the harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

The first shootings were heard on Sunday at the Sangoule Lamizana camp in Ouagadougou, which includes soldiers who failed in the 2015 coup attempt in prison before 5am (05am GMT), Reuters reporters said.

Hundreds of people later came out in support of the rebels. At the Lamizana camp, when about 100 people sang and sang the national anthem, the soldiers responded by firing into the air. It was not clear whether he wanted to show support for the protesters or to disperse them.

In the center of Ouagadougou, near Place de la Nation, police fired tear gas to disperse about 300 protesters.

The soldiers fired into the air at an air base near Ouagadougou International Airport, according to Reuters reporters. The U.S. embassy also fired at three other military bases in Ouagadougou and at bases in the northern towns of Kaya and Ouahigouya.

Elsewhere in Ouagadougou, protesters burned down and looted the headquarters of the People’s Movement for the Advancement of Kabor (MPP), a Reuters reporter said.

A spokesman for the rebels in front of the Lamizana camp called for better welfare of the wounded soldiers and their families.

COPIST FEARS

The Burkina Faso government has confirmed the shootings at several military camps, but has denied reports on social media that the army has seized power.

Defense Minister Bathelemy Simpor, who spoke on national television, said the reasons for the shooting were not yet clear.

“They have not arrested the head of state; they have not threatened any national organization,” Simpor said. “At the moment, we don’t know their reasons or what they are asking for. We are trying to contact them,” he said.

Kabore was not seen in public. His Twitter account (NYSE) posted a single tweet on Sunday to cheer on the Burkina Faso national football team for the African Cup of Nations match against Christmas. He did not mention any domestic events.

NetBlocks, the internet’s blockchain observatory, said access to the website had been suspended around 10 a.m. An airport spokesman said flights had not been canceled.

The West and Central African governments are on high alert for the coups over the past 18 months following the successful attacks in Mali and Guinea, where the army ousted President Alpha Conde last September.

The military also took over Chad after President Idriss Deby was killed on the battlefield last year.

Burkinabe authorities arrested a dozen soldiers earlier this month on suspicion of conspiring against the government.

The arrests came in December following a shake-up by the army chief, which some analysts saw as an attempt by President Kabore to bolster his support within the army.

The rise in violence sparked by Islamist attacks in Burkina Faso killed more than 2,000 people last year.

Anti-government protests were organized on Saturday, but the government banned them and police intervened to disperse hundreds of people who tried to gather in Ouagadougou.

The government has repeatedly suspended mobile internet service, and in November a tense situation warned the UN Special Envoy for West Africa against any military takeover.

Among the inmates at the Lamizana camp camp is General Gilbert Diendere, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019 for failing in a 2015 coup.


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