SOURCE: BBC NEWS
Schools are closed and residents are staying indoors, waiting for updates on the latest news.
Since 2015, authorities in Burkina Faso have been struggling to contain attacks by insurgent groups.
On Monday, 11 soldiers were killed in a militant attack in the northern Soum province, 50 civilians were reported missing.
It was only in January, that the current Head of State, Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba, ousted President Roch Kaboré through a coup. The democratically elected President was deposed for failing to contain violence by Islamist militants.
Now, Lt. Col Damiba seems to be suffering a similar fate.
On Thursday, September 29, 2022, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the Western city of Bobo Dioulasso to demand his resignation, blaming him for the ongoing insecurity in the country. Eye witnesses are reporting a heavy military presence around the city.
Where is Lt. Col Damiba
It was not immediately known where Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba was in the West African country. He had given a speech the day before in Djibo, in the north of Burkina Faso.
Last week, Damiba travelled to New York where he addressed the U.N. General Assembly as the country’s coup leader-turned-president.
In his speech, Damiba defended his January coup as “an issue of survival for our nation,” even if it was ”perhaps reprehensible” to the international community.
Burkina Faso’s coup came in the wake of similar takeovers in Mali and in Guinea, heightening fears of a rollback of democracy in West Africa.
None of the juntas has committed to a date for new elections, though Damiba said last week that the transition in Burkina Faso would last for almost two more years.
Many in Burkina Faso initially supported the military takeover, frustrated with the previous government’s inability to stem Islamic extremist violence that has killed thousands and displaced at least 2 million.
Yet the violence has failed to wane in the months since Damiba took over. Earlier this month, he also took over the position of defense minister after dismissing a brigadier general from the post.
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