As soldiers mutiny in Burkina Faso, government dismisses talk of coup

Shooting broke out at Sangoule Lamizana camp, home to army staff and a prison

A soldier provides security for the visit of Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi to the region bordering Mali and Burkina Faso, where extremist groups are a threat. AFP

Gunfire rang out from military camps in Burkina Faso on Sunday as mutinying soldiers demanded more government support for their fight against militants and the resignation of the army and intelligence chiefs.

The government called for calm, denying speculation on social media that the army had seized power or detained President Roch Kabore.

Hundreds of people came out into the streets in support of the mutineers. Outside the Lamizana camp, a crowd of about 100 sang the national anthem and chanted: “Free the country!”

The soldiers responded to each chant by firing into the air. It was not clear if this was meant to show support for the demonstrators or to disperse them.

In downtown Ouagadougou, near the Place de la Nation, police fired tear gas to disperse about 300 protesters.

Soldiers also fired into the air at an airbase close to Ouagadougou International Airport, Reuters said. The US embassy reported gunfire at three other military bases in Ouagadougou and at bases in the northern towns of Kaya and Ouahigouya.

Frustration has been rising in Burkina Faso over the government's handling of an insurgency by militants linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS. The deaths of 49 military police in a militant attack in November prompted violent street protests calling for Mr Kabore to step down.

A mutineer at Lamizana camp issued a series of demands, including the resignations of the army chief of staff and the head of the intelligence service.

He called for better welfare for wounded soldiers and their families, and “appropriate” resources and training for the army, which has suffered heavy losses at the hands of the militants.

Burkina Faso's government confirmed gunfire at some military camps but denied reports on social media that the army had seized power.

Speaking on national television, Defence Minister Gen Bathelemy Simpore said the reasons for the gunfire were unclear.

“The head of state has not been detained; no institution of the country has been threatened,” Gen Simpore said. “For now, we don’t know their motives or what they are demanding. We are trying to get in contact with them.”

Mr Kabore was not seen in public. His Twitter account issued a single tweet on Sunday to encourage Burkina Faso's national team in its Africa Cup of Nations football match against Gabon later in the day. It made no mention of events at home.

NetBlocks, an internet blockage observatory, said web access had been disrupted at 10am. A spokesman for the airport said flights had not been cancelled.

Coup fears

Governments in West and Central Africa are on high alert for coups after successful putsches over the past 18 months in Mali and Guinea. The military also took over in Chad last year after President Idriss Deby died on the battlefield.

Burkinabe authorities arrested a dozen soldiers earlier this month on suspicion of conspiring against the government.

The arrests followed a shake-up within the army's leadership in December, which some analysts saw as an effort by Mr Kabore to shore up his support within the military.

Rising violence in Burkina Faso driven by Islamist extremist attacks, part of a larger insurgency in West Africa's sub-Sahara region, killed over 2,000 people last year.

Anti-government demonstrations were planned for Saturday, but the government banned them and the police intervened to disperse the hundreds of people who tried to assemble in Ouagadougou.

The government has suspended mobile internet service on several occasions, and the tense situation in November led the UN special envoy to West Africa to deliver a warning against any military takeover.

Among the inmates at the Sangoule Lamizana camp prison is Gen Gilbert Diendere, who was an ally of Burkina Faso's former president, Blaise Compaore. Mr Compaore was overthrown in a 2014 uprising.

Gen Diendere led a failed coup attempt the following year against the transitional government. in 2019, he was sentenced in 2019 to 20 years in prison. He is also currently on trial in connection with the killing of Mr Compaore's predecessor, Thomas Sankara, during a coup in 1987.