Soldiers mutinied to demand the departure of army chiefs

Soldiers mutinied this Sunday in several barracks in Burkina Faso to demand the departure of army chiefs and “more suitable means” to fight against the jihadists who have struck this country since 2015.

These mood swings in the barracks of Burkina, a country that has experienced several coups and putsch attempts in the past, illustrate the fragility of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré’s power in the face of increasing jihadist violence in his country. and he can’t stop it. The government quickly reacted by acknowledging shooting in several barracks, but denied “a takeover by the army”.

A population between fear and support

Residents of the Gounghin district said that soldiers from the Sangoulé Lamizana camp came out of their barracks, firing shots in the air, and cordoned off the perimeter around the barracks.

On Sunday afternoon, about forty soldiers outside the barracks fired into the air nearly several hundred jubilant people carrying Burkina flags and blowing vuvuzelas, who had come to support them. The perimeter around the air base barracks was also cordoned off with hooded soldiers firing into the air.

Better support in the fight against jihad

“We want means adapted to the” anti-jihadist “struggle and substantial staff”, as well as the “replacement” of the highest ranking officers of the national army, indicates in an audio recording sent a soldier from the Sangoulé Lamizana barracks, under cover of anonymity.

He also wished “better care for the wounded” during the attacks and fighting with the jihadists, as well as “the families of the deceased”. At no time did this soldier demand the departure of Burkinabe President Roch Christian Kaboré, accused by a large part of the population of being “incapable” of countering jihadist groups.

The seat of power burned down

These claims have been confirmed by other military sources and discussions were underway on Sunday afternoon between representatives of the mutineers and the Minister of Defense, General Barthélémy Simporé, according to a government source.

In the morning, a hundred people who tried to gather at Place de la Nation, in the center of Ouagadougou, to express their support for the movement of soldiers, were dispersed with tear gas by the police. Later in the day, supporters of the mutinous military set fire to the headquarters of the ruling party in the capital before being dispersed by the police.

“No institution of the Republic has yet been worried”

The Sangoulé Lamizana camp is home to the Armed Forces Prison and Correctional Center (Maca) where General Gilbert Diendéré, close to former President Blaise Compaoré who was overthrown in 2014, who has since lived in Côte d’Ivoire, is detained. General Diendéré was sentenced to 20 years in prison for an attempted coup in 2015 and is currently on trial for his alleged role in the assassination of former President Thomas Sankara, a pan-African icon, in 1987.

“No institution of the Republic has yet been worried,” said General Barthélémy Simporé, in an intervention on television. He added that the movements observed “in a few barracks” are “localised, circumscribed”.

These movements in the barracks come the day after new demonstrations of anger from residents exasperated by the powerlessness of the authorities to deal with the jihadist violence which is ravaging Burkina Faso.