Burkina Faso President Roch Kaboré Has Resigned

The President of Burkina Faso, Roch Kaboré, has resigned after a coup d’état by the military which aimed to oust the President on January 23, 2022. Kaboré, along with several other politicians, were held captive during the coup; they are now safely released, according to many international news sources. Kaboré wrote his resignation letter after the coup was confirmed, Parliament dissolved and the Constitution suspended. 

On state television, soldiers released a statement saying they ended Kaboré’s presidency. This decision was “with the sole objective of allowing our country to return to the right path and gather all its forces to fight for its territorial integrity… and its sovereignty,” said a spokesman for the Patriotic Movement for the Safeguarding and the Restoration (MPSR), the group which orchestrated the coup. The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, condemned the actions by the MPSR, which led to the resignation of the President.

The military’s choice of using violence to overthrow the President caused more instability during this already difficult time in Burkina Faso. Even though the President was safely released, sources say he survived an assassination attempt. These actions raise concerns about how the military chooses to approach conflict. The military should prioritize dialogue to find a solution for the extremist violence without using weapons, as this is the only way they can ensure that Burkina Faso’s democracy prevails. Further, serious solutions should be incorporated into the country’s response to the extremists because the current state is too dangerous for Burkinabes.

Roch Kaboré has been in office since 2015; his presidency has been plagued with issues, mainly caused by the increase in Islamist extremism linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. In recent years, the extremists have carried out attacks in Burkina Faso. This activity prompted military groups to seek aid from the government. The military groups believe that the government has not done enough to protect the millions of civilians who had to uproot their lives because of the instability. Several civilians have had to leave their homes because of the militants, leaving large parts of the country in their control and therefore ungovernable by the government. This situation prompted civilian protests, asking for the resignation of the President to hopefully get someone in power who would handle the extremists correctly.

Now that the President has resigned and the military has taken control of the government, the country’s overall approach to the Islamist extremists will be altered, most likely condemning it more intensely.

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