The President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was arrested on Monday and was detained in a barracks in Ouagadougou, a day after mutinies in military camps in this country plagued by jihadist violence, security forces told AFP.
“President Kaboré, the head of parliament (Alassane Bala Sakandé) and ministers are effectively in the hands of soldiers” at the Sangoulé Lamizana barracks in Ouagadougou, a security source said, information confirmed by another security source.
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President Kaboré, in power since 2015 and re-elected five years later on the promise to make the anti-jihadist struggle his priority, had become increasingly challenged by a population fed up with jihadist violence and his powerlessness to deal with it.
An AFP journalist noted that a dozen hooded and armed soldiers were stationed Monday morning in front of the headquarters of Radio Television of Burkina (RTB), which was broadcasting entertainment programs, AFP noted.
Soldiers mutinied on Sunday in several barracks in Burkina Faso to demand the departure of the army chiefs and “appropriate means” to fight against jihadists who have struck the country since 2015.
