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Saturday 1 November 2014
Rival officers claim power in Burkina Faso
Colonel says he is in charge hours after nation's
top general, an ally of the ousted president, did
the same.
An army general and a colonel have both
announced they will lead a transition to
democracy after Burkina Faso's President Blaise
Compaore was pushed out by street protests,
ending a 27-year reign.
Colonel Yacouba Zida said in a recorded address
posted early on Saturday on the website of a
national television station that he was filling the
vacuum.
"While we wait to define in a consensual manner,
with all of the political parties and civil society
organisations, the contours and composition of
this peaceful democratic transition," Zida said. "I
will henceforth assume, from today, the
responsibilities of the head of this transition and
the head of state."
The announcement came just hours after General
Honore Traore, the joint chief of staff, and
Compaore loyalist, made the same declaration.
It was not immediately clear if Traore accepted
Zida's announcement on Saturday.
When he resigned, Compaore had said a vote
would be held in 90 days, but Zida said the
"length and make-up of the transitional body will
be decided later".
Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the US State
Department, called for democratic elections.
"We condemn any attempts by the military or
other parties to take advantage of the situation
for unconstitutional gain and call on all parties to
respect the people's support for the democratic
process," she said in a statement released late on
Friday.
-Semi-authoritarian rule-
Compaore stepped down after protesters
stormed the country's parliament and set it on
fire as he was seeking to pass a vote that would
allow his re-election for the fifth term.
While he was respected on the international
stage, critics noted that, under Compaore's semi-
authoritarian rule, the country of 18 million
people remained mired in poverty. The
landlocked country's fortunes rise and fall with
gold and cotton prices - and adequate rain in a
region plagued by drought.
Compaore's exit will have significance throughout
the region, where many leaders have pushed
through constitutional changes to prolong their
rule and others are attempting to, West Africa
expert, Philippe Hugon, said.
"It's obvious that what happened will have an
echo in other countries," said Hugon of the
Institute for Strategic and International Relations.
In the end, Compaore was pushed from power by
violent protests and an emboldened opposition
that would accept nothing short of his
resignation.
"I declare that I'm leaving power," Compaore said
in a statement. "For my part, I think I have
fulfilled my duty."
Thousands of opposition protesters gathered
Friday in a square in the capital and burst into
cheers when they heard the announcement of his
resignation on hand-held radios.
"This is a new revolution" and a chance to get it
right, said Donald Fayama, a shopkeeper who was
among the demonstrators. "At least tomorrow,
we are not going to wake up with the same face of
the same president."
Compaore, 63, was headed south to the city of
Po, near the border with Ghana, a French
diplomatic official said on condition of anonymity,
citing the sensitivity of the situation.
The outgoing president was still in Burkina Faso
on Friday afternoon, and it was not clear if he was
trying to cross the border, the official said. He had
not asked the French, who were once the
country's colonial rulers, for any help.
Burkina Faso hosts French special forces and
serves as an important ally of both France and
the United States in the fight against Islamic
militants in West Africa.
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