Dylan Bettencourt
Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore has been detained at a military camp by mutineering soldiers.
The president was taken prisoner after hours of heavy gunfire around his residence which raged through Sunday night.
The conflict arose after the military ademanded more support from the government in the fight against Islamist militants.
The Burkina Faso government however has denied any suggestion that the army has seized power.
The whereabouts of the 64-year-old president cannot be accurately pinpointed as contradicting reports continue to be released from a variety of security and diplomatic sources. Reuters have indicated that he is being detained at a military camp.
Residents in the area of Ouagadougou reported heavy gunfire overnight while a fleet of the president’s armoured vehicles, covered in blood and bullets, was seen leaving Kabore’s residence in the early hours of Monday morning.
The frequent killing of civilians and soldiers by armed rebel forces, some who have alleged ties to Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaeda, have seen frustrations in Burkina Faso boil over in recent months.
After Kabore’s political party’s headquarters were looted on Sunday, the government implemented a curfew between the hours of 8pm and 5.30am. It also announced the closure of schools for two days.
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest West African nations. Their miliary has suffered a great deal in the fight against Islamist militants in recent months.
The Islamist rebel groups control certain parts of the country and are forcing residents to follow their strict version of Islamic law. The growing rebellion is a political consequence that has led to the devastation of the Sahel region.
Kabore has led Burkina Faso since 2015 following a popular uprising which overthrew former president Blaise Compaore.
Kabore was reelected in 2020 for another five-year term but accusations that he has not supported his army during a deadly insurgency have led to the alleged coup.
The unrest in the country is the third successful military coup to have taken place in Africa in the past 18 months, following in the footsteps of Mali and Guinea.
A military coup in Chad was also executed last year when their president, Idriss Deby, lost his life on the battlefield.
Image source: @AlJazeera
