West African nations discuss how to respond to Burkina Faso coup

The leaders previously issued a statement to say the bloc "firmly condemns" the coup, accusing the military of forcing Kabore to resign "under threat, intimidation and pressure".

The coup is the latest bout of turmoil to strike Burkina Faso, a landlocked and poor state that has suffered chronic instability since gaining independence from France in 1960.
Reuters

The coup is the latest bout of turmoil to strike Burkina Faso, a landlocked and poor state that has suffered chronic instability since gaining independence from France in 1960.

West African heads of state have begun talks on how to respond to a new coup in Burkina Faso, hours after the military junta there appealed for international support.

Heads of the Economic Community of West African States held a virtual summit, an ECOWAS source said on Friday.

Burkina President Roch Marc Christian Kabore was overthrown on Monday by mutineering soldiers on the back of public anger at his failure to stem violence ravaging the impoverished nation.

The 15-nation bloc has already verbally lashed the overthrow and in the past year and a half has suspended two members where coups have occurred.

READ MORE: Explained: Military takeover in Burkina Faso

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Junta leader seeking support

On the eve of the summit, the leader of the new junta called for international support.

"Burkina Faso more than ever needs its international partners," Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba said in televised comments, his first since the coup.

"I call on the international community to support our country so it can exit this crisis as soon as possible."

Damiba, 41, is a rising star in the military who commands an eastern region that has been badly hit by militants.

On Wednesday, he met ministers of Kabore's government, which like the parliament has been dissolved.

On Tuesday, ECOWAS issued a statement to say the bloc "firmly condemns" the coup, accusing the military of forcing Kabore to resign "under threat, intimidation and pressure".

READ MORE: Military promises normalcy in Burkina Faso when 'conditions are right'

READ MORE: Thousands of Burkina Faso schools closed in fear of militant attacks

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