Burkina Faso: from popular uprising to military coup
India Today
As Burkina Faso's junta consolidates its position after seizing power in a coup, a look at the recent history of the troubled West African country.
As Burkina Faso's junta consolidates its position after seizing power in a coup, we look at the recent history of the troubled West African country.
Blaise Compaore takes power in a 1987 coup and cements his position four years later with the first of four election victories. But his 2010 win is contested, as is his attempt to amend the constitution to extend his rule. After being forced out by street protests in 2014, he flees to Ivory Coast. On November 29, 2015, former prime minister Roch Marc Christian Kabore is elected president.
From 2015, the north of the country, the capital Ouagadougou and the east begin to suffer attacks and kidnappings by jihadists affiliated to Al-Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State.
READ | Why is Burkina Faso's army mutinying?
On January 15, 2016, an attack on the Splendid hotel and a restaurant in Ouagadougou leave 30 dead, most of them Westerners, shocking the country.
In November 2017, the French-backed G5 anti-jihadist force starts joint cross-border operations in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
On March 2, 2018, simultaneous attacks target French forces and the former colonial power's embassy, leaving eight soldiers dead and 85 people injured.
