Sunday Newsletter: The Burkina Faso Coup
Every week in our Sunday Newsletter, Noa editor Lisa Kennedy writes an explainer column to provide background information on a developing news story.
2021 saw a spate of coups (that is, the sudden and violent seizing of power from the government) across the world, in locations like West Africa and South-East Asia.
And although 2022 is still young, there are already indications that this concerning trend is showing no signs of stopping. In Burkina Faso, West Africa has seen its fourth coup in less than two years.
Background…
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in Western Africa. On January 24th, the country’s President, Roch Kaboré, was ousted in a military coup.
Burkina Faso has seen several attempted coups before — indeed, former President Kaboré came to power following an uprising that removed his predecessor from government in 2014.
The Story…
As with two recent coups in neighbouring Mali, Kaboré’s removal was largely motivated by concerns regarding his government’s failure to protect the county against the growing threat of violence from militant Islamists, with links to groups like al-Qaeda. Such attacks have claimed 2000 lives in the country since 2015, and many schools are closed across the country because of the danger.
The coup followed months of protests demanding the president’s resignation. In particular, militant attacks in June and November 2021 sharply deteriorated faith in the government’s ability to manage the security crisis.
On January 24th, the country’s military confirmed that it had removed Kaboré from office. Hundreds of people in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital city, celebrated after the military seized power and ousted the president. However, the instability in the region is contributing to security concerns for the Ivory Coast (a country that borders Burkina Faso to the South).
Our Coverage…
If you want to learn more about the worrying trend of military coups, Noa has it covered in this article. Listen out on the app for an upcoming Series on the topic.
