Burkina Faso leader meets with government officials

Burkina Faso’s junta chief and new self-proclaimed leader, Ibrahim Traore, met with cabinet officials on Sunday following the military coup.

Former junta leader Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba also offered his resignation following talks with the new leader.

“We really need to change the pace. We need to change the pace. We need to go fast. The whole country is in a state of emergency. So everyone at this level must be able to move faster and abandon the unnecessary red tape. I can’t even name one point, one point where it is necessary to be fast — it is all the points. In Burkina, everything is urgent. From security to defence, to health, to social action, to infrastructure, everything is urgent”, said junta chief and new self-proclaimed leader of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore.

A few hours before events unfolded last Friday, hundreds of people rallied in the capital, Ouagadougou, seeking Damiba’s departure, the end of France’s military presence in the Sahel and military cooperation with Russia.

This is the second time in less than one year that Burkina Faso has a change in leadership. 

More than 40 percent of Burkina Faso remains outside government control.

africanews