Shots Heard Near Burkina Faso’s Presidential Palace

Gunshots were fired in the early hours of Friday around the presidential palace of Burkina Faso and the headquarters of its military junta which seized power last January in a coup.

According to reports, main roads in the capital Ouagadougou were blocked by troops.

State television was cut with the station showing no video signal.

A resident who lives close to the presidential palace while speaking on the development said, “I heard heavy detonations around 4:30 am (0430 GMT) and now the roads around my home have been sealed off by military vehicles.”

Troops were stationed on the main crossroads of the city, especially in the Ouaga 2000 neighbourhood that is home to the presidential and military junta headquarters and also outside the headquarters of state television.

A junta under Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is currently ruling in Burkina Faso.

Damiba took over power from elected leader Roch Marc Christian Kabore in a January coup.

The elected leader had failed to stem a jihadist insurgency, however, the security situation in the country has not improved.

Suspected jihadists on Monday attacked a convoy in the north of the country. According to the government, eleven soldiers died and around 50 civilians were missing.

Forty per cent of the country is currently been ruled by jihadists.

The security situation in the country has led to the death of thousands, while about two million have lost their residence to the crisis in the country.