African Union condemns "attempted coup" in Burkina Faso

The African Union (AU) has condemned the "coup attempt" in Burkina Faso, calling on the national army and security forces "to ensure the physical integrity of the president" Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and his government.

In a statement issued by the organization on Monday, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat "calls on the national army and security forces of the country to strictly adhere to their republican vocation, namely the defense of the internal and external security of the country.

The fate of President Kaboré remained unclear Monday. Security sources said he was being held by mutinous soldiers . However, a government source later said that the head of state had been "exfiltrated" from his residence on Sunday "before the arrival of armed elements who fired on the vehicles in his convoy.

This source said that "the situation is confused" , a confusion fueled by the absence by mid-day Monday of any statement from the mutinous soldiers or those close to the head of state.

Soldiers mutinied on Sunday in several barracks to demand the departure of the army chiefs and "appropriate means" to fight against the jihadists who have struck the country since 2015.

The West African states said Monday to follow "with great concern" the evolution of the situation in Burkina Faso, "characterized" since the day before "by a coup attempt".

In power since 2015, President Kaboré, re-elected in 2020 on the promise to make the fight against jihadism his priority, was increasingly challenged by a population fed up with jihadist violence and his inability to cope.

The mutinies came at a time when the Sahel is increasingly destabilized by jihadists who are also striking in Niger and neighboring Mali, a country that has seen two coups in a few months.