Paul Henri Damiba Deposed

 

Burkina Faso is becoming more unstable. Another coup has occurred, which forced Paul Henri Damiba to resign. Clinging to power would mean civil war. This is something Burkina Faso cannot withstand seeing as their is an insurgency. The armed groups are thought to be terrorist organizations. These forces are active in the north and east of Burkina Faso. Mediation efforts are underway to form a new government. The military will still have all of the power with Ibrahim Traore as head of state. The constitution remains suspended. If the constitution remains suspended, then there is no legal means of challenging the military regime. The transitional government no longer exists. By now, most observers can see that the military will be in power for sometime. The French embassy was attacked by protesters thinking they were giving aid to Damiba. France also has a military base in Burkina Faso. He was only in power for eight months and there is little information about his European connections. The coup appears to be an internal matter, not a foreign operation of regime change. The likely tools of regime change are armed groups that are associated with ISIS or al-Qaeda. A country going through a series of leaders shows a lack of stability. The lack of security and activity of terrorist organizations only gives the military regime justification for anti-democratic measures. Condemnation from the African Union and ECOWAS has not changed Burkina Faso's policy positions. Part of the agreement of Damiba's departure was that he will not be charged with crimes against the state.