After a chaotic weekend of protests and a mutiny, soldiers in Burkina Faso announced on Monday evening they had taken over the country and arrested the President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. The operation was carried out under the orders of lieutenant colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, previously in charge of anti-terror operations in the east of the country.
The army statement read out on RTB national television on Monday, was issued in the name of a group previously unheard of, notably the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, or MPSR.
According to the statement, written by MPSR president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, Kaboré has failed to unite the nation and to deal effectively with the security crisis which "threatens the very foundations of our nation".
He said his movement would re-establish "constitutional order" within a "reasonable time".
Hundreds gathered in the streets to show support for the military following the announcement.
Behind the uprising is frustration at the government’s inability to handle rising jihad violence over the past few years and the lack of resources.
This has also translated into regular street protests in recent months, often suppressed by security forces.
At the weekend, mutinying soldiers made several demands, including: the removal of the army's chief of staff and the head of the intelligence service, more troops to be deployed to the front line; and better conditions for the wounded and soldiers' families.
Anti-terror operations
According to French sources, Damiba is listed as having graduated from a Paris military school in 2017. He also completed studies in criminal science at the Arts et Métiers school (CNAM) and received a certificate in management, command and strategy.
In June 2021, Damiba published an essay on terrorism entitled Armées ouest-africaines et terrorisme : Réponses incertaines ?.
On the 3 December, Damiba was tasked with heading up anti-terrorism operations in the zone in the east of the country as well as in the capital, Ouagadougou.
The post was created by President Kaboré, who ordered a reshuffle in the wake of the attack in Inata in November, where 57 people were killed, including 53 gendarmes.
Prior to that, it is understood that Damiba was involved in several anti-terror operations between 2015-2019 in the northern Sahel region.
Damiba is also a former member of the Regiment of Presidential Security (RSP) – a controversial autonomous military unit formed under President Blaise Compaoré, who helped soldiers to stage a coup d'état in 2015.
However, Damiba said he refused a request by general Djibril Bassolé to join the uprising in Ougadougou.
According to several sources, Damiba spent time during his military training in the presence of Colonel Zoungrana, who was arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of preparing a coup.
Future of Sahel operations
Burkina Faso is now the third West African country to witness a military takeover in recent years. Guinea and Mali have had sanctions imposed on them by Ecowas to press them to return to constitutional order.
Questions have been raised as to how this latest chapter of unrest will affect the management of France’s Barkhane operation in the Sahel.
Out of the four countries involved in the G5 project, Niger is the only one left with an elected president.
The instability in Burkina Faso has "added to the difficulties of maintaining Barkhane, which is becoming politically more difficult to support. With these coups, and bad governance, nothing new can be built," says Elie Tenenbaum, director at the Centre for Security Studies and International Relations (IFRI).
After nine years of anti-terror operations, France has already begun scaling back its military presence in the region, from 5,000 soldiers last year to a projected 2,500-3,000 by 2023, with an increased participation by European partners and training local troops.
At present, Burkina Faso hosts French special forces as part of the Sabre operation; in charge of tracking down jihadist leaders in the region. Four of its members were wounded in a mine explosion on Tuesday last week.
It remains to be seen if the coup leaders will maintain the partnership with French authorities.
