Burkina Faso: Junta chief appoints transitional government after military coup

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Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, President of Burkina Faso, at his inauguration on March 2, 2022.

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OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP

Around six weeks after the military coup in Burkina Faso, junta chief Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba appointed an interim government.

The 25-strong cabinet includes several politicians with government experience, according to a decree published by Damiba on Saturday evening.

Among other things, the previous Defense Minister Barthélémy Simporé will keep his post.

Minister for Social Cohesion and National Reconciliation will be Yero Boly, who has previously held various ministerial roles.

53-year-old Albert Ouedraogo was appointed interim prime minister on Thursday.

His new cabinet includes six women, including the new foreign minister, Olivia Rouamba.

Ouedraogo's cabinet is to remain in office for a transitional period of three years.

Damiba came to power on January 24 after two days of mutinies in several barracks.

He succeeded President-elect Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.

Kaboré had been accused of not taking decisive action against the jihadist violence in the West African country.

Like the neighboring countries of Mali and Niger, Burkina Faso has been plagued by massive jihadist violence since 2015.

Since then, at least 2,000 people have been killed in the region and another 1.4 million displaced.

xvc/AFP