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Burkina Faso Army Officers: We Hold Power

by VOA News October 31, 2014

A group of Burkina Faso army officers said Friday that it had 'taken the destiny of the nation in hand,' increasing doubt about just who is in charge in the country.

The news came hours after the head of the army, General Honore Traore, said he was assuming 'responsibilities as head of state' after mass demonstrations led to the ouster of President Blaise Compaore.

Representing the officers, Lieutenant Colonel Yacouba Issac Zida appeared in Ouagadougou's huge Place de la Nation, where the fiercest of the demonstrations took place. Zida said he was making the declaration on behalf of the 'Forces Vive' [civil society] of the nation.

Transitional government

A deputy commander of the presidential guard and leader of one of the civil society groups that helped lead the protests, Zida said the constitution had been suspended and a transitional government was in formation.

Promises of a quick and peaceful transition aimed at returning the country to 'normal constitutional order' brought cheers from the crowd.

A day earlier, Traore gave a similar message, saying his administration would begin working with political stakeholders with a view to restoring 'normal constitutional order.'

Compaore announced his resignation Friday in a statement calling for a 90-day transition period leading to elections. He ruled the country for 27 years after seizing power in a 1987 coup.

A French diplomatic source said the former president was fleeing south and possibly toward the town of Po, near the border with Ghana.

Stakeholders to meet

Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the secretary-general was following Burkina Faso developments with 'great concern' and was urging 'calm, restraint and dialogue.'

Dujarric said the U.N. special envoy for West Africa, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, had arrived in Ouagadougou as part of a joint mission that includes the president of ECOWAS [the Economic Community of West African States] and the African Union commissioner for political affairs.

Chambas is expected to meet with all political stakeholders as well as religious and traditional leaders.

Former colonial power France quickly said it welcomed Compaore's resignation. It called for calm in the West African nation and said it supported the 'rapid holding of democratic elections.

Unrest broke out Thursday as lawmakers prepared to vote on a constitutional amendment that would have allowed Compaore to run for another term. The government withdrew the amendment after hundreds of protesters stormed and set fire to the parliament building.

More protesters gathered in the streets of Ouagadougou on Friday, but there was no repeat of Thursday's violence.