Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the head of Burkina Faso’s ruling military junta, on Sunday agreed to resign in the wake of Friday’s coup d’état led by Army Captain Ibrahim Traoré. According to the West African country’s main civil and religious leaders, Damiba did so to avoid clashes and “serious consequences” in terms of damage and human life. In exchange, however, the colonel, who had ruled the country since last January, asked for protection for his own security and a guarantee that the commitment to form a new government elected by the people within two years would be maintained.
Friday marks Burkina Faso’s second coup in less than a year after the army sacked President Roch Kaboré and installed the Damiba junta. It is the eighth since the country gained independence from France in 1960.
Burkina Faso is located in the Sahel zone (the belt of land south of the Sahara), which is historically very unstable. In recent years, the country has been plagued by frequent acts of violence and armed attacks, most of which have been attributed to radical Islamic groups: the country’s political leadership has often been accused of failing to contain the phenomenon.
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