Africa

Elite presidential guard in Burkina Faso detains cabinet

Soldiers fire warning shots outside presidential palace as hundreds gather to protest

People gather at the Place de la Nation in Ouagadougou on September 16th, 2015, a few hours after Burkina Faso’s interim president and prime minister were detained at the presidential palace by guards loyal to ousted leader Blaise Compaore, the speaker of parliament said. Photograph: Ahmed Ouoba/AFP/Getty Images

Wed Sep 16 2015 - 21:10

Soldiers fired warning shots outside Burkina Faso’s presidential palace on Wednesday as hundreds of people gathered to protest the detention of government leaders inside by the elite presidential guard, witnesses said.

The warning shots, fired by unidentified soldiers as night fell on the capital, caused the crowd to retreat slightly but not to disperse.

Private station Radio Omega said on Twitter its service was cut off and journalists’ motorbikes set ablaze, but it did not say by who.

A picture from November 21st, 2014, taken in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, shows then interim president Michel Kafando (left) shaking hands with prime minister Lt Col Isaac Zida during Mr Kafando’s inauguration ceremony. File photograph: Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty Images

Several other Burkinabe radio stations also appeared to have stopped transmitting.

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It was earlier reported that Burkina Faso's presidential guard (RSP) had "taken hostage" President Michel Kafando, prime minister Yacouba Isaac Zida and other ministers, the head of a transitional parliament claimed on Wednesday.

“The RSP’s countless disruptions are a serious attack on the republic and its institutions,” Moumina Cheriff Sy said in a statement sent to journalists, confirming reports that cabinet members had been detained during a meeting.

He added that military chiefs are now attempting to negotiate with members of the RSP.

The detentions came two days after a commission charged with drafting reforms for Burkina Faso’s transitional government proposed dismantling the elite military unit.

The RSP was a key pillar of former president Blaise Compaore’s regime before he was toppled by demonstrations last October after 27 years in power.

“It is the whole of the government, including the prime minister and the president, taken by a group of soldiers from the presidential guard,” said one senior military source. “They have not asked for anything for the time being.”

Journalists from state television, who had gone to film the cabinet meeting, confirmed the cabinet had been detained by soldiers.

Civil society activist Souleymane Ouedraogo said on his Facebook page that the soldiers were demanding the resignation of President Kafando. It was not possible to confirm this.

Burkina Faso is due to go to the polls on October 11th to elect a new president from a field dominated by former members of Mr Compaore's regime.

In a report submitted to the prime minister, himself a former commander in the presidential guard, the national reconciliation and reform commission described the 1,200-strong unit as “an army within an army”.

The RSP’s political meddling after Mr Compaore’s ousting, including attempts to force the prime minister’s resignation over his plans to reduce its size, provoked further protests and prompted authorities to call for a review of the guard’s role.

Monday’s report recommended that the regiment be broken up and its members redeployed within the framework of a broader reform of the military.

Reuters

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