Burkina Faso's president detained at military camp: Reports

By Fatma Esma Arslan

DAKAR, Senegal (AA) - Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore was detained at a military camp by a group of soldiers, according to multiple media reports.

The president was detained by soldiers after gunfire was heard in some barracks in the capital Ouagadougou on Sunday, the reports said, adding Kabore was taken to one of the military barracks.

On Sunday, gunshots were heard in the morning at two military barracks in Ouagadougou and it was feared that the incident might be an uprising.

The government announced that there was no possibility of a coup and stated that the situation was under control.

It was stated that the soldiers rebelled not with the intention of a coup, but with the demand for better working conditions.

There was a nationwide mobile internet outage in the West African country.

A group of people took to the streets and attacked the building of the ruling People's Movement for Progress party.

A nationwide curfew was declared from 8:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. local time, and educational activities were suspended for two days in the country.

Gunfire was heard around the president's house, and it was claimed that Kabore was detained.

- Terrorism in Burkina Faso

On Nov. 22, 19 people, including nine gendarmes, were killed in an attack in Burkina Faso's Sanmatenga province in the Centre-Nord region.

In another attack, on Nov. 14 in the Sahel region, 53 people, including 49 soldiers, lost their lives, and protests were held across the country for the resignation of Kabore.

The death of many soldiers in a row in terrorist attacks brought the government under criticism.

Kabore fired Prime Minister Joseph Marie Dabire on Dec. 9 and replaced him with Lassina Zerbo two days later.

Al-Qaeda and Daesh-linked terrorist groups in neighboring Mali have been carrying out frequent attacks in the north and east of Burkina Faso since 2015.