Burkina Faso’s military ruler urges calm after coup scare

The Burkina Faso military leader, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, has urged the people of the West African nation to remain calm after a coup scare on Friday.

There were fears of a second coup in Burkina Faso earlier on Friday after heavy gunfire was heard near the military camp and residential areas in Ouagadougou, the country’s capital.

The gunfire was also reportedly heard near the presidential palace where soldiers took up positions.

Soldiers and military vehicles took to the deserted streets of Ouagadougou after dawn on Friday, cutting off access to administrative buildings.

READ ALSO: Burkina Faso police arrests trader for threatening to kill journalist

Security sources later told journalists there had been frustration within the military at a lack of progress in combating Islamist militants in the landlocked West African nation.

Damiba, who took power in a coup in January, urged calm in a statement.

He said certain members of the armed forces overcome by “mood swings’’ had created a “confused situation.”

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