Burkina Faso: The Protest/Mutiny Movement is Not Over

Following a soldiers’ mutiny and a merchants’ street protest in Burkina Faso last week, the regime of President Blaise Compaore continues to face uncertainty.

The capital, Ouagadougou, is apparently “calm”:

Few shops were open [Sunday] in Burkina Faso’s capital, but cars and motorbikes returned to the streets after President Blaise Compaore’s government imposed an overnight curfew when merchants rioted because mutinous soldiers looted their shops.

Yet elsewhere, soldiers continue to revolt:

Soldiers rampaged in southern Burkina Faso on Sunday, firing shots into the air, stealing vehicles and ransacking shops in continued protest over pay, witnesses said.

[…]

Residents said the rampage began on Saturday night and continued into Sunday, adding that some of the soldiers fired on the residence of a local commander. Hospital sources said at least two people were treated for bullet wounds. Soldiers across the country have been stepping up protests in recent weeks over pay, and members of the Presidential Guard charged with protecting Compaore fired weapons into the air late last week near the presidential palace in Ouagadougou.

Compaore, who has already fired his cabinet, has now dismissed other key personnel in order to assuage grievances: “General Kodji Lougue of the land forces, General Abraham Traore of the air force and Colonel Zambo Martin Zongo of the police were replaced by their assistants, according to a statement broadcast on national television.”

This is not over yet.