Burkina Faso army launches operation near presidential guard camp

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Tue Sep 29, 2015 8:41am EDT

Burkina Faso army launches operation near presidential guard camp

OUAGADOUGOU

Burkina Faso's army took up positions on Tuesday outside the presidential guard's camp in the capital Ouagadougou, a day after the military's chief of staff said the elite unit was refusing to disarm after a short-lived coup.

In a statement, the chief of staff called on the population of the capital to avoid the Ouaga 2000 district, where the camp is located, close to the presidency, and for residents of the neighborhood to remain indoors.

In a separate statement directed at media, the army requested that journalists stay clear of deployed troops and not reveal their position "in order not to compromise the operation under way".

The Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) took the president, prime minister and cabinet members hostage earlier this month and named General Gilbert Diendere, a close ally of ousted president Blaise Compaore, as head of state.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/29/us-burkina-army-idUSKCN0RT1DT20150929

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Gunfire heard as Burkina Faso coup guards surrounded

Gunfire has been heard in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou, around the barracks of the presidential guard which staged a coup earlier this month.

The army has surrounded the barracks, accusing the guard of failing to lay down their arms following the short-lived coup, reports say.

The international airport has been shut, an aviation source said, amid fears of violence.

A former foreign minister has also been arrested in connection with the coup.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34395373