OUAGADOUGOU : Security forces fired tear gas at protesters throwing rocks in Burkina Faso’s capital on Saturday, as tensions rose across the conflict-riddled nation with the population angry at the government’s inability to stem violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
Several hundred protestors took to the streets, calling for President Roch Marc Christian Kabore to resign. The army and police drove through downtown Ouagadougou, the capital, during clashes with protesters, who barricaded streets, set fire to tires and threw rocks and bricks.
“We refuse to lose Burkina Faso. We will put in someone who is competent to assure the security of the nation,” said Isaac Pagberam. “We’ve already lost two-thirds of our territory, nobody can travel the country in peace. We say no! We can’t sit until the jihadis come to Ouagadougou to kill us.”
The protest comes after the deadliest attack in years against the security forces in the Sahel’s Soum province earlier this month, where more than 50 security forces were killed and after an attack in the Center North region where 19 people including nine members of the security forces were killed.
