A new coup in Burkina Faso has been confirmed by soldiers. In order to validate the reports, masked armed officers appeared on television on Friday night.
The removal of President Paul-Henri Damiba was officially announced on television on Friday night by masked, armed men.
In the West African nation this year, there have been two coups.
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A report of gunshots in the city Ouagadougou, an explosion close to the presidential palace, and interruptions to state television programming were all made hours before the announcement.
Army Captain Ibrahim Traore has taken over as Burkina Faso's new president. Traore proclaimed the dissolution of the government, suspension of the constitution, and closing of the borders on television while flanked by soldiers, in a spectacle that mirrored Damiba's own attempt to seize power on January 24. He imposed a curfew every night.
According to Traore, a number of officers who assisted Damiba in seizing control in January resolved to have their leader removed because of his failure to cope with the Islamists. The same justification was used by Damiba to depose Roch Kabore.
The statement, made by Traore and read aloud on television by another officer, stated that "faced with the worsening scenario, we tried numerous times to get Damiba to refocus the transition on the security concern."
According to the statement, Damiba rejected the commanders' recommendations to reorganise the army and kept the military organisation that had caused the previous government to fail.
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