{UAH} Burkina Faso coup sparks deadly street protests

Burkina Faso coup sparks deadly street protests

• 17 September 2015
 
• From the sectionAfrica

Image copyrightAPImage captionThe opposition has called for people to resist the coup

Presidential guard officers in Burkina Faso have seized power in a coup, with reports of more than 10 deaths amid protests in the capital, Ouagadougou.

A close ally of former President Blaise Compaore has been named the country's new leader, state television reports.

The US, France and African Union (AU) condemned the coup in the former French colony.

Those killed were shot dead by presidential guard forces in the capital, a civil society group said.

• How the coup unfolded
• What is behind the coup?
• The coup in pictures

The claim by the influential Balai Citoyen group could not be independently verified.

A medical source in the city's main hospital said three people had been killed.

An unknown number of protesters have been detained.

'Rise up'

The coup leaders have imposed a night-time curfew across the West African state, and have ordered the closure of land and air borders, AFP news agency reports.

The headquarters of Mr Compaore's Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) party were ransacked in Ouagadougou as news of the coup spread, it adds.

The AU and regional body Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, called for the immediate release of "hostages", referring to interim President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida, who were detained at a cabinet meeting in the president palace on Wednesday.

Their transitional authority was due to hand power to a new government after elections on 11 October.

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Seven things about Burkina Faso:

Image copyrightAFP

• It is one of the world's poorest countries - its main export is cotton
• A former French colony, it gained independence as Upper Volta in 1960
• Capt Thomas Sankara seized power in 1983 and adopted radical left-wing policies - he is often referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara"
• The anti-imperialist revolutionary renamed the country Burkina Faso, which translates as "land of honest men"
• Mr Compaore took power in the coup that killed Mr Sankara, and ruled for 27 years, until he was ousted last year following street protests
• People in Burkina Faso, known as Burkinabes, love riding motor scooters
• It is renowned for its pan-African film festival, Fespaco, held every two years in Ouagadougou

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

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