A coup d’etat has taken place in the landlocked West African nation of Burkina Faso.
JUST IN – Junta in Burkina Faso confirms coup live on state TV: President detained, parliament dissolved, and the constitution suspended. pic.twitter.com/J8X88xaWmZ
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“MPSR, which includes all sections of the army, has decided to end President Kabore’s post today,” said a statement read on state television by an army officer on behalf of Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR).
The group said it would propose a calendar for a return to constitutional order “within a reasonable time frame, after consultations with various sections of the nation,” Reuters reported.
President Roch Marc Christian Kabore was arrested. The army suspended the constitution, and dissolved the national government and the national assembly (parliament) in addition to closing the country’s borders.
Kabore’s party said earlier that his personal residence had been sacked and that he personally had survived an assassination attempt. No further details were available, and Kabore’s current whereabouts are unknown.
Shooting by military forces was reported Sunday in the capital Ouagadougou, with soldiers reportedly demanding more support for their fight against Islamist militants, some of whom were said to be linked to the Al Qaeda and Islamic State terror organizations.
Israel and Burkina Faso established diplomatic relations on September 23, 1987. The country is also a member of the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
Israeli Ambassador Leo Vinovezky represents Israel in Burkina Faso as well as in the Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin, but there is currently no Israeli Consulate in the country. Burkina Faso, on the other hand, maintains a Consular presence in Tel Aviv.