Burkina Faso president resigns, coup leader says, as army faction seeks Russia support

Reuters:

OUAGADOUGOU, Oct 2 – Burkina Faso’s self-declared military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore has accepted a conditional resignation offered by President Paul-Henri Damiba to avoid further violence after Friday’s coup, religious and traditional leaders said on Sunday.

Traore said that order was being restored after violent protests against the French embassy and days of fighting as his faction moved to topple the government.

Splits have emerged within the army, with many soldiers appearing to seek Russian support as the influence of former colonial power France wanes.

At least three separate videos shared on online on Saturday and Sunday showed Burkina Faso soldiers atop armoured personnel carriers, waving Russian flags, while the crowd around chanted “Russia! Russia!”. Reuters has not verified the videos.

Traore’s team urged people to halt attacks on the French embassy, targeted by protesters after an officer said France had sheltered Damiba at a French military base in the West African country and that he was planning a counter-offensive.

The French foreign ministry denied the base had hosted Damiba after his ouster on Friday. Damiba also denied he was at the base, saying the reports were a deliberate manipulation of public opinion. His whereabouts remain unknown.

“We want to inform the population that the situation is under control and order is being restored,” an army officer said in a statement broadcast on national television. Traore, an army captain, stood beside the officer and was flanked by other armed and masked soldiers.