Sporadic bursts of gunfire have been heard across the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou on Saturday, more than 24 hours after a successful military coup which toppled junta leader Paul-Henri Damiba.
There has been a state of confusion with barrage of gunfire heard in parts of the city where shops and other businesses had remained closed.
The new man in charge has been named as Captain Ibrahim Traore who replaced Damiba eight months after he came to power in a coup on January 24th which ended the reign of civilian president Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
The coupists say Damiba had presided over a lopsided war against jihadist fighters who had been waging an insurgency in the country since 2015 and had stepped up their attacks in recent months.
However, Captain Traore’s coup seems to divide the military with Damiba loyalists putting up some resistance by firing shots near a military camp south of Ouagadougou.
Sources also saw helicopters flying over the capital.
Some parts of the city, particularly the Ouaga 2000 district have also remained cordoned off by soldiers.
The area around the Radiodiffusion-Télévision du Burkina Faso (RTB), where the group of officers read the press release announcing the coup against Damiba on Friday remains barricaded.
Damiba meanwhile has still not been arrested.
WN/as/APA