Burkina Faso: military power push after president resigns
- 9 years ago
A split has emerged over who is ruling Burkina Faso after Lieutenant Colonel Issaac Zida declared that he is in charge of the West African nation.
It comes after military chief of staff Honore Traore seized power following the resignation of the president of the former French colony.
Addressing a news conference on Friday, Traore said that in line with constitutional measures, and given the power vacuum, he had assumed his responsibilities as head of state and vowed to “save the life of the nation.”
However he has not appeared in public since and his whereabouts are unknown.
Former president Blaise Compaore came to power in a 1987 military coup. He quit his long-term presidency on Friday amid mass protests against his efforts to run for an unconstitutional fifth term.
A day before his resignation, a state of emergency had been declared after the country’s parliament was destroyed, the state television building ransacked and several other government buildings torched, plunging the country into uncertainty.
It comes after military chief of staff Honore Traore seized power following the resignation of the president of the former French colony.
Addressing a news conference on Friday, Traore said that in line with constitutional measures, and given the power vacuum, he had assumed his responsibilities as head of state and vowed to “save the life of the nation.”
However he has not appeared in public since and his whereabouts are unknown.
Former president Blaise Compaore came to power in a 1987 military coup. He quit his long-term presidency on Friday amid mass protests against his efforts to run for an unconstitutional fifth term.
A day before his resignation, a state of emergency had been declared after the country’s parliament was destroyed, the state television building ransacked and several other government buildings torched, plunging the country into uncertainty.