EU threatens consequences after the coup: Burkina Faso

Ousted Burkina Faso President Roc Marc Christian Kabore's party announced on Wednesday that their two leaders are "in the custody of the army," two days after a military coup.

Kabore's fate remained unknown for many hours on Monday, with conflicting information received, as it was reported that he had been arrested, smuggled, and even "threatened by an assassination attempt."

A source in Kabore's People's Movement for Progress (MPP) Party reported that the President was "physically well", saying he was in a "presidential villa under house arrest."

These statements come to confirm what was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday when he confirmed that Kabore was "in good health, and not in danger."

ECOWAS emergency summit

The Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS) will meet on Friday in an "emergency summit" to discuss developments in Burkina Faso since the coup, in a meeting to impose sanctions on the military.

The MPP source explained that Kabore "was not arrested during the first hours" of the military coup. The source said "the entourage close to Kabori" initially tried to "smuggle him in a regular car to a safe place" when his private home was "besieged by rebels."

He added, "But later, under the pressure of the rebels, his entourage, especially his guards, retreated," and he became in the hands of the putschists.

The source considered that the gendarmerie had "no choice but to join the rebels" because the entire Army agreed to overthrow the President.

Who is in power now?

Since Monday afternoon, power in Burkina Faso has fallen to the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR) led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, commander of the third military region covering the eastern region, the region most affected by the militants' attacks.

The MPSR dissolved several state institutions, suspended others, and closed airspace and land borders.

It is noteworthy that Kabore, who took power in 2015 and was re-elected in 2020, has become the subject of growing popular protests due to violence and his inability to confront it.

Denunciations from many sides

The international community strongly condemned the coup in Burkina Faso, which followed two coups in Mali and Guinea, demanding the "immediate release of the ousted President."

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, also warned of new punitive measures after the military coup.

"If constitutional order is not restored, there will be immediate consequences for our partnership with the country," Borrell said in remarks aimed at "elements of the armed forces." The EU has called for the release of detained President Roch Kabore.

An overwhelming majority of Western countries, West African countries neighboring Burkina Faso, the African Union, and the United Nations, condemned the coup.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said that "military coups are unacceptable," calling on the military in West Africa to "defend their countries, not attack their governments."