The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Burkina Faso from all its institutions following the recent coup in the West African country.
The suspension was decided at a virtual ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government extraordinary session convened to review political developments in Burkina Faso.
According to a draft of the meeting’s resolution seen by PREMIUM TIMES, “the authority strongly condemns the coup d’Etat and expresses deep concern over the resurgence of military coups in the region following the coup d’Etats in Mali on August 18, 2020, in Guinea on September 5, 2021 and in Burkina Faso on January 24, 2022.”
It also demanded the immediate release and protection of President Roch Kabore and all the other political detainees who were taken into custody by the army.
The leaders called for the quick restoration of constitutional order by the militaries, urging them to remain republican by focusing on the role of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country.
The Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) will also deploy a delegation to Burkina Faso to hold consultations with the military leaders to carry out an assessment of the security situation in the country and submit a report to be reviewed by the Authority of Heads of State and Government.
The leadership “further instructs the Commission to facilitate the deployment of a joint ECOWAS Ministerial Mission to Burkina Faso, led by the Chairperson of Council of Ministers on 31st January, 2022 to assess the political situation and submit their report to the Authority of Heads of State and Government.”
It added that the United Nations Special Representative to West Africa and Sahel and the African Union will participate in this mission.
The Heads of State and Government will, on February 3, convene an Extraordinary Summit in Accra, Ghana, to re-examine the situation in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.ⓘ
In attendance were Presidents of the Republic of Benin; Republic of Cabo Verde; Republic of Cote d’Ivoire; Republic of The Gambia; Republic of Ghana; Republic of Guinea Bissau; Republic of Liberia; Federal Republic of Nigeria; Republic of Niger; Republic of Sierra Leone; Togolese Republic; Republic of Senegal, amongst others.
Burkina Faso Coup
The Burkinabe army on January 24 arrested President Marc Kabore and later at night announced that his government had been deposed.
The whereabout of the president is still unknown although the officer who announced the coup said he and other officials of his government were being treated with dignity in detention.
According to the army, the coup was was as a result of the elected government’s inability to tackle jihadists who have over the years caused unrest in the country as well as the region.
The coup plotters later identified themselves as the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR) led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, a lieutenant-colonel.
According to Aljazeera, 41-year-old Damiba had been promoted in December by Mr Kabore to command Burkina Faso’s third military region.
He studied at a military academy in Paris, obtaining a master’s degree in criminal sciences from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers.
The recent military coup in Burkina Faso is the fourth in the West African region in recent times and the sixth successful coup in the continent since 2020. There had been two within the period in Mali, and one each in Guinea, Sudan, and Chad.
PREMIUM TIMES
