Barracks were seen burning in Ouagadougou, where protesters gathered to show support for the rebellion.
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso:
Gunshots were heard near Burkina Faso’s president’s home late Sunday as soldiers revolted in several barracks demanding the sacking of the country’s top military officials and more resources to fight Islamist rebels.
Residents also reported that they saw a helicopter atop the private residence of President Roch Marc Kabor in the capital, Ouagadougou.
it followed Firing on many army bases on Sunday, prompting fears of another coup for a military takeover in a volatile West African country.
Meanwhile, protesters torched the ruling party’s headquarters to protest the government’s handling of the jihadist threat.
But the government soon denied the rumours, and the list of demands submitted by rebel troops made no mention of an attempt to oust Kabore, while emphasizing the need for a better anti-jihadist strategy.
“We want enough resources to fight”, a soldier from the Sangoule Lamizana base in Ouagadougou said in a voice recording obtained by AFP, against Islamic extremists.
Disaffected soldiers also wanted top generals to be “replaced”, better care for wounded soldiers and more support for the families of soldiers killed in battle, the rebel soldiers’ spokesman added in anonymous recordings.
Officials announced an overnight curfew from 8:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Sunday “until further notice” and the education ministry said schools in the poor landlocked country would remain closed on Monday and Tuesday.
The unrest comes a week after 12 people, including a senior army officer, were arrested on suspicion of planning to “destabilize” Burkina’s institutions.
It also comes a day after police used tear gas to disperse banned rallies, arresting dozens.
‘Localized, limited’ events
Residents of Gonghin district, where the Sangoule Lamizana base is located, saw soldiers firing in the air and sealing the area around the barracks.
Witnesses said gunfire was also heard at Baby Sea Barracks south of the capital, as well as at an airport near the airport, which was surrounded by soldiers wearing balaclavas.
There were also shots fired at targets in the northern cities of Kaya and Ouhigoya, residents there told AFP, and mobile Internet services were cut.
The government moved quickly in trying to restore control.
“The information on social media will lead people to believe that the military has taken over,” government spokesman Alkasoum Maiga said in a statement.
“The government, while admitting that some barracks had opened fire, denies this information and calls on the public to remain calm.”
Defense Minister General Barthélemy Simpor said on nationwide TV that “no institution of the republic has been disturbed” by the uprising.
He said there were “localised, limited” incidents “in some barracks”, and that he was investigating.
An AFP correspondent said police fired tear gas at a square in central Ouagadougou to stop a rally of about 100 people who had gathered to show support for the uprising.
history of coup
The Sangoule Lamizana camp houses a military prison where General Gilbert Diandere – a former right-hand man to ousted President Blaise Compaore – is serving a 20-year term for a 2015 coup attempt.
He is also on trial for his alleged involvement in the 1987 assassination of the country’s revolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara, during a coup that brought Compaore to power.
Compaore, who was overthrown by a popular uprising in 2014, fled to Ivory Coast, and is being tried in absentia for murder.
Anger over jihadi toll
The latest unrest coincides with a jihadist insurgency that swept through neighboring Mali in 2015, taking a toll on Burkina’s poorly trained and ill-equipped armed forces.
About 2,000 people have died, while about 1.5 million people have been internally displaced, according to AFP figures, according to the national emergency agency Konsur.
Anger over Kabore’s failure to stop the bloodshed has escalated, sparking clashes with security forces.
Dozens were injured when hundreds of people came out to protest on 27 November.
Among the soldiers arrested this month over a conspiracy to “destabilize institutions” was Lieutenant-Colonel Emmanuel Zongrana, who was commanding anti-jihadist operations in the badly-hit western region of the former French colony.
In a statement, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it was deeply concerned by the situation and expressed its solidarity with Kabor, the government and its people.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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