At least three people have been killed
and 60 injured during street clashes in Burkina Faso’s capital as
protesters demonstrated against a military coup, a senior source in the
main hospital has said.
Witnesses said that soldiers fired
warning shots on Thursday to disperse crowds gathering in the streets of
Ouagadougou, who responded by throwing stones.
The military had taken to the airwaves
earlier on Thursday to declare it now controlled the country, confirming
that a coup has taken place on Weednesday – just weeks before national
elections.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the country’s military to “exercise restraint”.
Ban condemned “in the strongest terms” the coup led by a close ally of toppled former leader Blaise Compaore.
“Those responsible for the coup d’etat and its consequences must be held accountable,” he said in a statement.
In a statement, Susan Rice, the US
National Security Advisor, said: “We call on the responsible parties to
release immediately those being detained, order aligned forces to stand
down, respect the rights of civilians to peacefully assemble, and put
Burkina Faso back on the path to presidential elections in October.
“We are deeply disappointed that the
self-interested actions of a few are threatening the historic
opportunity that the people of Burkina Faso have to cast their ballots
and build a new future for the country.”
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