Mutinous soldiers take over Burkina Faso military barracks
Source: AP
By SAM MEDNICK
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Mutinous soldiers seized control of a military base in Burkina Faso’s capital Sunday, raising fears of a coup attempt in the West African nation as gunfire rang out for hours amid growing frustration with the government’s handling of the Islamic insurgency.
The apparent mutiny came one day after the latest public demonstration calling for President Roch Marc Christian Kabore’s resignation. On Sunday, security forces used tear gas to disperse crowds seeking to publicly support the mutineers. Crowds also vandalized a building occupied by the president’s political party and set it on fire.
Defense Minister Aime Barthelemy Simpore told state broadcaster RTB that a few barracks had been affected by unrest not only in the capital of Ouagadougou but in other cities too. He denied, however, that the president had been detained by the mutineers, even though Kabore’s whereabouts remained unknown.
“Well, it’s a few barracks. There are not too many,” Simpore said. “In some of these barracks, the calm has already returned. So that’s it for the moment. As I said, we are monitoring the situation.”
A mutinous soldier fires into the air at the Bobo interchange, near the Lamizana camp in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. Witnesses are reporting heavy gunfire at a military base raising fears that a coup attempt is underway. Government spokesman Alkassoum Maiga acknowledged the gunfire but denied that the military had taken over the West African country. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/africa-burkina-faso-ouagadougou-roch-marc-christian-kabore-b5f6654b95362410df94852ff7a774d9
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