Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ouagadougou (Agenzia Fides) – Uncertain situation in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, where a military revolt forced President Blaise Campaoré to take refuge in his native village (Ziniaré, about thirty miles from the capital) and then returned this morning , April 15, to the presidential office. "The shooting started at around 9.30 last night and continued until this morning, even with the use of heavy weapons”, refer sources of the local Church, who do not wish to be mentioned, to Fides. Departments of the Presidential Guard rebelled. "This corps should be the most loyal to the President. There appears to be problems related to non-payment of wages. It seems that the commander of the Presidential Guard has been accused by his subordinates to withhold the money for the payment of their salaries. For this reason his house was set alight”, explain sources of Fides.
The revolt began last night in a barrack in the complex of about twenty acres from the President`s palace, and then spread to three other barracks, among which the most important of the capital. This is the second time in a short while that the military revolt. At the end of March, in fact the military had already taken to the streets to protest the arrest of several fellow soldiers accused of sex crimes and of other things. "The President had met all military components and apparently the problem had been solved" remind our sources. In the center of the capital, tension is still high and most of the shops have not opened their doors for fear of ransack, which have occurred in different points. In February, the students protested for the killing of a schoolfriend by the police. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 15/04/2011)
