Soldiers took to the streets of Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, on Friday and blocked access to administrative buildings after gunfire rang out and a blast was heard near the presidential palace, raising fears of a second military coup in eight months.
Gunshots were first heard around dawn at the main military camp in the capital, and in some residential areas, according to Reuters. Then came the blast near the palace.
State television has since stopped broadcasting.
By mid morning, the city, usually buzzing with motorbikes and cars, was quiet. Military vehicles were stationed along deserted streets. Schools, businesses and banks were shut.
A correspondent of Breezy News in Ouagadougou reports that at about 2:30 pm West African time, “there was a massive exchange of gun shots at the Kosyam Palace, the official residence of the President, which is a close distance to my house”.
The United States embassy urged American citizens to limit their movement.
A government spokesman could not be reached.
It was not clear yet if the gunfire and blast were part of a coup attempt, but security sources say there has been frustration within the military at a lack of progress in combatting Islamist miltants.
A junta led by Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba took power in a coup on 24th January.
The latest unrest bore the hallmarks of other power grabs that have swept across West and Central Africa over the past two years, undoing decades of democratic progress.
The coups have been driven in part by violence committed by Islamist groups who have taken over large areas of northern Burkina Faso and parts of neighbouring Mali and Niger.
Credit: Reuters, additional reporting by Gbenga Bolejo-Ojo in Ouagadougou
