Ouagadougou – Two civilians were killed and a dozen injured in last month’s coup in Burkina Faso, an event that had previously been hailed as bloodless, the authorities said on Monday, adding that junta leader and interim president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba had ordered an inquiry.
The casualties were caused by “stray rounds,” Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba’s office said.
Damiba has “ordered the relevant departments to open an inquiry to assess collateral damage,” it said in a statement.
He offered his condolences to the relatives of those who had died, wished for a speedy recovery for the wounded, and called for support to be given to their families.
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On January 23, gunfire erupted at several barracks at the start of a mutiny against President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, under pressure for his handling of a bloody jihadist insurgency.
The following day, troops led by Damiba arrested Kabore and declared the country was being governed in the name of a junta called the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (MPSR).
Damiba last Wednesday was sworn in as president and head of the armed forces, following an announcement on January 31 that he would be appointed to those roles for a transitional period.
The landlocked Sahel state has experienced repeated coups since gaining independence from France in 1960.
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Since the first jihadist attacks in 2015, more than 2,000 people have died, according to an AFP tally, while the country’s emergencies agency says more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes.
Burkina has been suspended from the West African bloc Ecowas, the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States, as a punishment for the coup, although it has for now escaped economic and other sanctions.
The military authorities have promised to re-establish “constitutional order” within a “reasonable time” but the issue of a date for elections remains unsettled. Kabore remains under house arrest.
On Saturday, thousands of people turned out for a rally in support of the junta.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@portaldeangola
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