Protesters outside the French embassy in Ouagadougou were dispersed by tear gas fires on Sunday, two days after a coup that ousted Colonel Damiba from power. The leader of the putschists, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, said the situation in Burkina Faso was under control and called for “any violence directed against France” to be avoided.
Confusion continues in Burkina Faso. Tear gas grenades were fired from inside the French embassy in Ouagadougou on Sunday, October 2, to disperse protesters supporting self-proclaimed coup leader Ibrahim Traoré, who ousted Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba and seized power himself in a January coup came.
A few dozen protesters had gathered outside the embassy, setting fire barriers on fire and throwing rocks inside the building, which had French soldiers stationed on its roof, when the gas was fired.
Other protesters were also seen by the AFP journalist, who tore down barbed wire to scale the perimeter wall of the diplomatic building.
In this regard, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, in a press release read on national television, called for an end to acts of “violence and vandalism” against France.
“Things are gradually returning to normal, so we invite you to go about your business freely and to distance yourself from acts of violence and vandalism (…), especially those that could be perpetrated against the French embassy or the French military base” in Ouagadougou, points out to this press release read by Captain Farouk Azaria Sorgho, with Captain Traoré at his side.
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The Quai d’Orsay regrets “considerable damage” to the French Institute of Ouagadougou
Two French institutions were attacked by demonstrators late on Saturday afternoon: a fire had already broken out in front of the French embassy in Ouagadougou and another in front of the French institute in Bobo-Dioulasso.
The French institute in Ouagadougou was also attacked by anti-France demonstrators on Saturday. “The French Institute of Ouagadougou suffered serious damage, which is all the more regrettable given that it was one of the most important cultural centers in the city and home to the Georges Méliès library, very popular with Burkinabè,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lamented on Sunday .
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“Severe attacks on the security of our diplomatic rights of way took place last night in Ouagadougou, in relation to the embassy but also to the French institute, as well as in Bobo-Dioulasso, where the institute was destroyed,” added the Quai d’ Orsay and condemned “with the utmost determination the violence against our diplomatic influence in Burkina Faso”.
These attacks “are the act of hostile protesters who have been manipulated by a disinformation campaign against us,” explained his spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre, while urging “those involved to ensure the security” of the diplomatic buildings.
At France 24, Ibrahim Traoré backs down
Social media reports granted by France to the junta chief, Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who was ousted on Friday, helped fuel the anger of pro-Traoré protesters.
On the France 24 antenna, Anne-Claire Legendre assured that “Paul-Henri Damiba was never welcomed” at the French military base in Ouagadougou or at his embassy.
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While the putschist soldiers also accused France of wanting to help Lt. Col. Damiba prepare a counter-offensive to regain power, Ibrahim Traoré, the country’s new strongman, appeared to back down on Saturday, adding to the general confusion little strengthened. “A counter-offensive, yes. Supported by France, I don’t think so,” he said live on France 24.
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“I know that France cannot interfere directly in our affairs. Today, when we have other partners who can support us, you don’t necessarily see Russia,” he continued.
Moscow’s influence has continued to grow in several French-speaking African countries in recent years, particularly Mali and the Central African Republic.
On Sunday, protesters also gathered near the headquarters of Burkina Faso’s national television, around which the armored device deployed since Friday was detonated with three vehicles instead of twenty.
Rallies took place on several main axes of the Burkinabe capital in the night from Saturday to Sunday, and a military helicopter flew over them all night.
Curfew lifted
Tensions have continued in Ouagadougou since Friday evening announced the dismissal of the head of the Burkinabe military junta, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, who himself came to power in a coup in January.
Despite the tensions, the military said in a statement read on national television on Sunday that the curfew imposed on Friday from 9pm to 5am (local and GMT) had been lifted.
The borders remain closed for the time being.
The statement also announces the convening of “the secretaries-general of the ministerial departments responsible for dispatching current affairs” on Sunday afternoon.
Colonel Damiba made it clear that he did not want to abdicate and called on the new putschists to “come to their senses in order to avoid a fratricidal war, which Burkina Faso does not need in this context”. He also denied having sought refuge in the Komboinsin military camp in Ouagadougou.
Paul-Henri Damiba came to power in January in a coup that ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, discredited by the rise in jihadist violence.
But in recent months, attacks on dozens of civilians and soldiers in northern and eastern Burkina Faso, where cities are now blocked by jihadists, have multiplied.
Since 2015, regular attacks by armed movements linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group have killed thousands and displaced around two million people.
With AFP