Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Henri Damiba may be plotting a counter offensive to reverse the coup against him if claims by new junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré are anything to go by.
Earlier Damiba who deposed civilian president Roch Marc Christian Kabore on January 24th had earlier called on Captain Traore to go back to barracks and allow him to continue governing the country.
Damiba’s regime has been accused by his opponents of ”not giving much heart” into the jihadist insurgency which has witnessed a series of attacks since he took over.
Meanwhile the atmosphere around Ouagadougou looks precarious.
Although troops loyal to 34-year-old Traore seem to be in charge of much of the capital since they launched Friday’s coup against Damiba, the political situation is far from certain with sporadic shootings heard in some parts of the city while military helicopters flew above.
Traore has accused France of giving Damiba and his proteges protection, a claim Paris has denied.
Damiba has reportedly given Traore some conditions to accept before he would relinquish power including his own personal safety and that of his entourage, a national reconciliation scheme his regime was spearheading and respecting the deal with the West African regional bloc Ecowas.
These conditions could not be independently verified as emanating from Damiba himself.
Meanwhile, over the weekend an inferno broke out near the French embassy where demonstrators had gathered to protest alleged French interference in Burkina Faso’s internal affairs.
Traore’s coup which he said was necessitated by a need to tackle the jihadist insurgency which began in the country in 2015, has been condemned by the African Union and Ecowas.
WN/as/APA