Burkina Faso is the Latest West African State to Have a Coup

The West African bloc Ecowas on Monday condemned what it called an attempted coup in Burkina Faso, saying it held the military responsible for the safety of President Roch Kabore, whose whereabouts is unknown. A Twitter post from Kabore’s account called on those who had taken up arms — an apparent reference to mutinous soldiers — to lay them down. Reuters could not independently verify if Kabore was the author. “Our nation is going through difficult moments. We must at this precise moment safeguard our democratic norms,” said the post, which was signed RK. “I invite those who have taken up arms to lay them down in the higher interest of the nation.” Kabore has not appeared in public since heavy gunfire erupted at military camps on Sunday, when soldiers demanded more support for their fight against Islamist militants. The government then denied that the army had seized power. Bloomberg reported that soldiers who had detained Kabore asked him to sign a resignation letter, people familiar with the matter said a day after the mutiny.  Army putsches have toppled governments over the past 18 months in Mali and Guinea. The military also took over in Chad last year after then president Idriss Deby died fighting rebels on the battlefield in the country’s north.

SOURCE: BUSINESS DAY LIVE