Ouagadougou, Jan 24, (dpa/GNA) – The government in Burkina Faso imposed a country-wide overnight curfew , after mutinous soldiers fired their guns at several barracks, sparking fears of an attempted coup.
Burkina Faso’s embattled president, Roch Marc Kaboré, issued a decree late Sunday that bans people from being on the streets between 8 pm and 5:30 am.
The government reported that the situation was under control after the gunfire erupted at barracks in the capital Ouagadougou and two northern cities. It said there was never a threat of a coup.
The 15-member West African economic bloc ECOWAS issued a statement of support for Kaboré, who has for weeks been the target of regular street protests demanding he step down.
Details of Sunday’s mutiny remained scarce.
It was only in mid-January that the army had accused several soldiers of a coup attempt and arrested them.
On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators in the capital had demanded Kabore’s resignation and were dispersed with the use of tear gas.
Burkina Faso, with its 21 million inhabitants, has had its stability threatened by increasing Islamist terrorism in the Sahel region.
Many militias, some of which have sworn allegiance to Islamic State or al-Qaeda, operate across the borders with Mali and Niger.
More than 1 million inhabitants are considered internally displaced.
Resentment among the population, which accuses Kabore and his government of inaction, has increased sharply in recent months.
GNA