Gunshots rang out Saturday in Burkina Faso’s capital amid signs of lingering tensions a day after a group of military officers overthrew the man who had seized power in a coup only nine months earlier.
Roads remained blocked off in Ouagadougou, where a helicopter could be heard flying overhead. An internal security analysis for the European Union seen by The Associated Press said there was “abnormal military movement” in the city.
As uncertainty prevailed Saturday, the international community condemned the ouster of Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who overthrew the country’s democratically elected president in January. The African Union and the West African region bloc known as ECOWAS sharply criticized the developments.
“ECOWAS finds this new power grab inappropriate at a time when progress has been made,” the bloc said, citing the recent agreement Damiba had made to return to constitutional order by July 2024.
