This video grab taken from a video broadcasted on October 2, 2022 by the national television of Burkina Faso shows Captain Kiswendsida Farouk Azaria Sorgho (C), member of the junta reading a statement next to Coup leader Ibrahim Traoré (L) and surrounded by members of the military who are claiming to take power on September 30, 2022 in Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso's new self-proclaimed putsch leader on Sunday called for an end to violence against French targets, after a series of attacks against buildings linked to the former colonial power. (Photo by Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina / AFP)
Burkina Faso’s junta leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba agreed to step down Sunday, two days after military officers announced he had been removed from power, religious and community leaders said.
Following mediation between Damiba and the new self-proclaimed leader, Ibrahim Traore, “Damiba himself offered his resignation in order to avoid confrontations with serious human and material consequences”, the religious and community leaders said in a statement.
They added that Damiba had set “seven conditions” for stepping down, including a guarantee of security for his allies in the military, “a guarantee of his security and rights” and that those taking power must respect the guarantee he had given to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for a return to civilian rule within two years.
READ ALSO: Burkina Faso Forces Fire Tear Gas At Protesters Outside French Embassy
The religious and community leaders — who are very influential in Burkina Faso — said that Traore accepted the conditions and “invites the population to exercise calm, restraint and prayer”.
Since the announcement on Friday that army officers had removed Damiba — who himself came to power in a coup in January — tension has been high in the landlocked West African country.
Damiba had previously made clear that he had no intention of stepping down.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse angry protesters outside the French embassy in Burkina Faso’s capital earlier Sunday.
A statement issued on Sunday by the pro-Traore military said he would remain in charge “until the swearing in of the president of Burkina Faso designated by the nation’s active forces”, at an unspecified date.
AFP
The illicit scheme involved affixing pre-printed Eva labels onto the bottles and sealing them with…
The uncle of the new president and his namesake Diomaye Faye said that running as…
They expressed their displeasure at the direction of events unfolding politically in the state and…
He has no major convictions but has long been trailed by allegations of physical assault,…
"A military plane has fallen into the sea," Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said in a post…
He listed the enforcement locations to include Costain, Ikorodu Road, Ojuelegba, Yaba, Oyingbo, Ikeja, and…