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BURKINA FASO JUNTA CHIEF SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT

BURKINA FASO JUNTA CHIEF SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT
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Ekeomah Atuonwu

Just over three weeks after leading a coup that deposed democratically elected Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been sworn in as Burkina Faso’s president.

Damiba took his oath before the country’s top constitutional authority on Wednesday, promising to “preserve, respect, support, and defend the constitution,” the country’s laws, and a “basic act” of critical military choices.

Damiba was clothed in a camouflage uniform with a red beret and a sash in the national flag colors of Burkina Faso.

There were no international representatives present for the ceremony, which took place in a modest room at the Constitutional Council’s offices in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, News President of Burkina Faso /Courtesy/

Kabore was elected in 2015 following the overthrow of long-time monarch Blaise Compaore by a popular uprising. In 2020, he was re-elected, but the following year, he faced a backlash over the rising toll of a violent conflict that had spilled over from neighboring Mali.

In the face of attacks by armed organizations linked with ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda, warfare has killed thousands of people and pushed millions from their homes across West Africa’s Sahel area. According to the United Nations, approximately 15 million people in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger would require humanitarian aid this year, four million more than in 2021.

On the 24th of January, Damiba, 41, led a group of unhappy policemen in forcing Kabore out amid public outrage over his handling of the deteriorating security situation.

Damiba was formally declared president, head of state, and supreme commander of the armed forces by the Constitutional Council last week.

The move reinforced the military’s declaration on January 31 that Damiba would be appointed to those positions for a transitional period, with two vice presidents assisting him.

While the military regime has enjoyed considerable support within Burkina Faso, the coup has been criticized by the international community. Burkina Faso has been suspended from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, but sanctions have not been imposed.

Both organizations are demanding for Kabore’s release and a quick transition to constitutional governance. In Ouagadougou, the former president remains under house arrest.

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world and one of Africa’s most violent.

Since winning independence from France in 1960, the landlocked Sahel state has been subjected to a series of coups and is currently fighting a horrific armed operation.

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Ekeomah Atuonwu