West African bloc condemns ‘attempted coup’ in Burkina Faso

West African bloc ECOWAS on Monday condemned what it called an attempted coup in Burkina Faso and said it held the military responsible for the physical well-being of President Roch Kabore, whose whereabouts are unknown.

“ECOWAS is following with great concern the evolution of the political and security situation in Burkina Faso, characterised since Sunday 23 January by an attempted coup d’etat,” the organisation said in a statement.

Situation calm in capital 

The situation in Burkina Faso’s capital is generally calm for now with no clashes or no reports of casualties in the society amid reports of the president’s detention by the military, said a Chinese diplomat in the country on Monday.

Wang Wenzhang, Chinese counselor for political affairs in Burkina Faso, told China Media Group on Monday that shootings have taken place at several military camps in Ouagadougou, capital city of Burkina Faso, since early morning on Sunday.

“According to latest information this morning, the president may have been detained by the military. According to the information we got, the country is now under the control of the military, and they will probably make a statement via the local television station at noon to demand the president to resign,” said Wang.

“The society, seen from the situation of the markets and streets, is still calm without any unrests or violent riots. There have been no reports of casualties in the last two days. We have been paying close attention to the safety of Chinese-funded institutions and Chinese people in Burkina Faso, and they are not impacted currently according to the situation we’ve learned so far. The around 500 Chinese nationals in the country are safe, and we will keep in contact with them,” said Wang.

Burkina Faso President has been detained overnight by mutinous soldiers, local media reported on Monday.

“The president was taken to a military camp following the mutiny,” a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

On Sunday, a country-wide curfew was imposed in Burkina Faso, following reports of gunfire in some barracks in the morning, according to a decree signed by President Kabore.