Supporters of the former president of Burkina Faso Marc Christian Kaboré, overthrown by a putsch in January, gathered Saturday in Ouagadougou to demand his release.
Hundreds of supporters of the former president of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, overthrown by a putsch in January, gathered Saturday in Ouagadougou to denounce his “taking hostage” and demand his “total and unconditional release”, noted an AFP journalist.
First held in a villa in Ouaga 2000, an upscale district of Ouagadougou after the January 24 putsch, Mr. Kaboré had been authorized to return to his private home in the Burkinabe capital in early April, but does not enjoy his freedom, according to his supporters.
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“A citizen of Burkina Faso, moreover a former head of state, is detained at home, requisitioned and transformed into a prison,” said Désiré Guinko, spokesman for a coordination of pro-Kaboré organizations at the AFP. origin of the gathering.
He denounced “the taking hostage of President Kaboré” and warned that “if in a short time” he was not released “unconditionally”, “the peaceful struggle will extend to all the 45 provinces of the country”.
The coordination had initially planned a demonstration in the streets of Ouagadougou near the home of Mr. Kaboré, which was banned by the authorities.
They had to opt for a gathering in a conference room in the capital which could not contain everyone, and many people were forced to stay outside.
The country has been facing an upsurge in attacks by suspected jihadists since mid-March, which have killed more than 200 civilians and soldiers.
A banner could be read there on which was written: “Arbitrary detention of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, the hostage-taking has lasted only too long”.
Mr. Guinko recalled that the military had taken power by claiming “to want to restore peace and security, but the observation is made by everyone: the result is negative, in four months of management of power, on the security level , it’s a disaster”.
“In such a context, we must work for national unity, we cannot work for division, diversion, intimidation and arrests,” he added.
Accused of failing to stem the jihadist violence that has undermined Burkina Faso since 2015, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was overthrown by a military junta led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, now transitional president.
After a short lull following his takeover, Mr. Damiba has been facing an upsurge in attacks by suspected jihadists since mid-March, which have killed more than 200 civilians and soldiers.
The release of Mr. Kaboré has been demanded on several occasions by the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the UN and the African Union.