Burkina Faso transitional President Paul-Henri Damiba ousted in army revolt

Paul-Henri Damiba was sworn into office as transitional president of Burkina Faso on February 16, 2022. [Courtesy]

Burkina Faso Army Captain Ibrahim Traore has ousted President Paul-Henri Damiba.

Traore, who addressed the nation on state media, said the transitional government has been dissolved, the Constitution suspended and the transitional charter discontinued.

The army chief was flanked by a group of soldiers during the televised address.

The apparent mutiny follows a January 2022 coup that hoisted Paul-Henri Damiba to presidency, and left the West African country in turmoil.

Damiba's ouster came hours after heavy gunfire was reported around the presidential palace earlier Friday.

The transitional leader had accused a section of the army of "creating a confused situation".

The presidency said in a statement on Facebook that efforts were ongoing to restore calm.

However, the said-efforts appeared to have backfired as army chief Traore announced take-over late Friday.

It is suspected that an "internal crisis in the army" has led to the apparent mutiny.

Paul-Henri Damiba, a Lieutenant-Colonel, led a military junta that on January 24, 2022 overthrew President Roch Kabore, citing Kabore's inability to curb an Islamist insurgency that had killed thousands of people and forced more than one million people to flee their homes.

Damiba was, thereafter, sworn into office as a transitional leader of Burkina Faso on February 16, 2022.