Burkina ex-president moved to home after house arrest

Burkina Faso's military-led government said in a statement that former president Kabore would return to his home after house arrest.

Burkina Faso’s former president Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who has been under strict house arrest since being ousted in a coup in January, has been allowed to return to his personal home, according to the ruling military junta.

Following three weeks of consultations across the country, it was decided that Kabore could go back to his residence in the capital, Ouagadougou, which will be guarded by government security, junta spokesman Wendkouni Joel Lionel Bilgo said in a statement.

It’s unclear which of his several houses Kabore is in and it appears he remains under arrest. Kabore is allowed to see family and close friends and to use his phone but he isn’t permitted to freely move outside his home, two members of the ruling junta told The Associated Press.

Transition

Last month the military junta announced that it intends to stay in power for three years before holding elections and returning Burkina Faso to civilian, democratic rule. The junta said it is necessary for the military to hold power for that period in order to secure the country from jihadi violence in which thousands have been killed and nearly 2 million people displaced. The 15-nation West African regional ECOWAS expressed its concern over the junta's transition period and demanded that by April 25 the military rulers propose a shorter time to elections or the regional group will impose economic and financial sanctions.

Kabore was ousted on January 24 by officers disgruntled at his handling of a nearly seven-year-old jihadist insurgency that has claimed some 2,000 lives and forced 1.8 million people to flee their homes.