Muted opposition to Burkina Faso coup as confusion in army reigns

What you need to know:

  • Analysts noted that when he proclaimed himself the new leader on Thursday, former presidential guard commander Gilbert Diendere said the coup had the support of the mainstream military. The army has remained silent.
  • On Thursday Gen Diendere, a long time ally of the exiled Compaore, emerged to announce himself the leader of a new National Council for Democracy to run the  country on dissolution of the transitional  government.

OUAGADOUGOU

It was a calm night in downtown Burkina Faso as soldiers kept demonstrators out of the capital for the second day following a military coup on Wednesday.

While plans for a popular resistance akin to the revolt a year ago that toppled President Blaise Compaore did not materialise, those opposed to the coup still held out hope that it would collapse.

Analysts noted that when he proclaimed himself the new leader on Thursday, former presidential guard commander Gilbert Diendere said the coup had the support of the mainstream military. The army has remained silent.

The coup was mounted by the powerful presidential guard, the RSP, whose soldiers stormed a cabinet meeting on Wednesday and seized interim President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida.

On Thursday Gen Diendere, a long time ally of the exiled Compaore, emerged to announce himself the leader of a new National Council for Democracy to run the  country on dissolution of the transitional  government.

His claim to have support of the military, however, remains untested.

To add to the confusion, Transitional National Assembly President Cheriff Sy, who from hiding has been trying to mobilise resistance against the coup, also declared himself president in the absence of Kafando and Zida.

The journalist and former president of The African Editors Forum, TAEF, released a statement on Wednesday denouncing the takeover and demanding the immediate release of President Kafando and PM Zida.

On Thursday, he released an even more powerful statement saying while the two were “incapacitated”, he assumed control.

On that basis, he proclaimed himself the president and commander in chief of the armed forces and proceeded to order the military high command to intervene, arrest the coup plotters and restore the transitional administration.

There was no public response from the military but Mr Cheriff’s allies seemed to be hoping that a split in the armed forces would expose the fragility of the pustch.

The presidential guard is a small unit of 1,300 men that previously was fiercely loyal to Mr Compaore.

Its withdrawal of support last October forced Compaore to quit and flee into exile in the wake of a public uprising against his plans to change the constitution and stand for a fifth term.

When the interim administration was formed to run the country for a year, pending elections scheduled for next month, the presidential guard remained a powerful fixture on the political scene.

It even provided the interim PM, Zida, who was its second in command.

However, it was not long before the administration began getting tired of meddling from the presidential guard. Gen Zida even tried to have it disbanded or incorporated into the military without success.

The final push came just days before the coup when a government commission recommended dissolution of the guard. It was described as “an army within an army”.

The big puzzle is whether the guard can hold on to power and if the military would play along.

The small unit is highly trained and well equipped, compared to the much larger military of about 10,000 men that has largely been denied resources. However, the presidential guard does not have the numbers to extend its influence outside Ouagadougou.

The big question is whether the military elements opposed to the coup might now try confront Gen Diendere and his minnows.