UPDATED: Coup in Burkina Faso as army deposes government

A coup has occurred in Burkina Faso with the army announcing the sack of the government in the West African country.

The army announced in a televised broadcast Monday evening that it has deposed President Roch Kabore, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the national assembly, and closed the country’s borders.

The announcement, signed on Monday by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, a lieutenant colonel, and read by another officer, Sidsoré Kader Ouedraogo, on state television, said that the takeover had been carried out without violence and those detained were in a secure location.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that mutinous soldiers detained Mr Kabore following heavy gunfire Sunday night.

The group that executed the coup identified itself as the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR). It said the president’s inability to tackle security issues and unite Burkinabes led to toppling the government.

“In view of the continuing deterioration of the security situation which threatens the very foundations of our country, the manifest inability of the power of Mr Marc Christian Kaboré to unite the Burkinabé to deal effectively with the situation…,” the group said.

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It claimed that the coup brought together all the components of the defence and security forces.

According to the broadcast, deposing the government, “is a decision taken with the sole aim of allowing our country to get back on the right track and gather all its forces to fight for its territorial integrity, its role of the CEMA and its sovereignty.”

The group also said that arrested persons are being detained in a dignified manner.

It pledged its continued respect for international commitments, including human rights.

The coup in Burkina Faso is the latest in the region with similar coups occuring in Chad, Mali and Guinea.