Burkina Faso: Military announce the removal of President Kaboré

Uniformed soldiers under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba announced Monday on Burkinabe television that they had overthrown President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who took office in 2015 and was sucked into the Sahel turmoil.
They announced the end of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré’s powers, the suspension of the National Assembly and the government, the closure of borders, and the establishment of a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Mr. Kaboré will have suffered the same fate as his Malian and Guinean counterparts, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Alpha Condé, whom colonels came to take over in August 2020 and September 2021.
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is an infantry lieutenant colonel in the Burkina Faso army. On December 3, he became commander of the country’s third military region, which is responsible for anti-terrorism measures in the eastern part of Burkina Faso and for security in the capital Ouagadougou.
He was appointed to this position by a decree signed by Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who made a major reshuffle in the military hierarchy in the wake of the Inata attack, which killed 57 people, including 53 gendarmes, three months ago and sent shockwaves through the country.