It’s now official: there is a #coup within a coup in #BurkinaFaso. Little is known about coup leader Ibrahim Traoré. What we do know is that the coup came amid spiralling tensions within #MPSR. Here’s a look at the main points from tonight’s announcement and what led to this 🧵
1/ Damiba has been toppled by coup plotters who claim to belong to the #MPSR. Unclear at this stage where Damiba is. Sources mentioned earlier he had been arrested and negotiations revolved around the conditions of his departure from power
2/ Cpt. Ibrahim Traoré is the new #MPSR president. He was named Chef d’Artillerie du Dixième Régiment de Commandement d’Appui et de Soutien by Damiba in March 2022, but little else is known about him at this stage
3/ Spokesperson says #Damiba betrayed the ideal that animated the MPSR when they seized power in Jan (to "restore security and integrity of territory"). He accuses him of seeking "political adventures" over tackling insecurity and being responsible for further deterioration
4/ Spokesperson says they tried on several occasions to re-centre the transition on security matters and drew up a proposal to improve the army's ability to launch counter-offensives, which he says Damiba rejected. He says Damib's "ambitions were at odds" with the MPSR's ideals
5/ In what seems to be a veiled reference to the CDP cadres (from Blaise Compaore's era) Damiba nominated, the spokesperson lambasts the "restoration of an former order" which undermined the independence of justice - possibly a reference to Compaore's visit to #BurkinaFaso
6/ #BurkinaFaso's Constitution is suspended. Transition charter, interim govt and Transitional National Legislative are all dissolved. Air and land border are closed until further notice. Curfew from 9pm-5am. All political and CSO activity is suspended
7/ A new transitional charter will be drafted and a new (civilian or military) President will be appointed "shortly". Now a bit of context on how we got here:👇
8/ Day 2 of the coup in #BurkinaFaso: after last night's statement brought clarity to what had been going on during the day, there are now multiple reports of gunfire in several areas of #Ouagadougou and movement of armoured vehicles. Stay tuned for more as the situation develops
9/ Things are moving fast in #BurkinaFaso, but it appears Damiba loyalists are putting up some resistance in #Ouagadougou. Lots of confusion in the city about who is who. There are now also reports of armed units moving from Ouahigouya and Tenkodogo toward the capital
10/ Fluid situation in #Ouagadougou. Now also reports of more soldiers moving from military camps in Ouaga toward city centre. #Damiba loyalists' resistance to #coup is coming into sharper focus. If protracted, stand-off could risk distracting from #jihadist threat in #Burkina
11/ As pro-#Damiba & pro-Traore continue standoff in #Ouagadougou, new statement by Traore partisans is upping stakes. They claim Damiba sheltering at 🇫🇷 base to prepare counter-offensive, say it confirms their desire to diversify int'l security partners facebook.com/rtburkina/vide…
12/ Since yday, rumours have been circulating in #BurkinaFaso on social media that #France was sheltering #Damiba. At this stage, there are zero reliable indications this is the case. But blaming France could be a potent mobilisation trigger for a now seemingly embattled #Traore
13/ The choice of int'l security partners has increasingly been a core dividing issue in the #MPSR and the army and population at large in recent months, and likely one of the key grievances of #Traore & co against #Damiba who was reluctant to pivoting to #Russia
14/ #Traore live on @VOAAfrica right now. Claims Damiba is pushing loyalists (special forces) to clash with the new coup forces. Says the soldiers deployed at state TV, rond point des martyrs, and Baby Sy camp are his men, not Damiba's, but the helicopters are not Traore's
15/ #Traore says he refrained from shooting down helicopters as #BurkinaFaso will need them to fight #jihadists. Says the army's basic logistic needs aren't met, that populations are hungry, and that #Damiba did not listen to the proposals they put forward
16/ Addressing #ECOWAS concerns over transition timeline, #Traore claims that under his leadership #BurkinaFaso's transition could be even shorter than under #Damiba. Also says that new transitional president would not necessarily need to be military
17/ #Traore lambasted the army's "bourgeois hierarchy ... sitting in #Ouagadougou", said discontent had been simmering for weeks. Traore said if #Damiba did not relinquish power now, he would call on soldiers to rally capital. Unclear if he can muster that support, but if so ...
18/ ... it could have dire consequences for populations both here in #Ouagadougou, exposed to clashes, and in #BurkinaFaso's rural areas, who could be left exposed to #jihadist attacks as the security apparatus becomes more divided and disorganised
19/ After the claims earlier on #BurkinaFaso state TV by pro-#Traore that #Damiba is hiding at #France base, any mention of this or vision for new int'l partners they calimed they would seek was conspicuously absent from the interview
20/ #France embassy in #Ouagadougou targeted by protesters. Accusations earlier today by pro-#Traore men on state TV that 🇫🇷 is harboring #Damiba, coupled with inflammatory rumours & audios circulating on whatsapp have effectively painted a target on embassy in #BurkinaFasocoup
21/ For #Traore, pointing the finger at #France serves the purpose of making this internal #MPSR dispute driving the #BurkinaFasocoup of wider relevance for the population - otherwise why should they feel personally concerned and take to the streets of #Ouagadougou?
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