Ouagadougou-SANA
Hundreds of Burkina Faso citizens demonstrated for a second day, in front of the French embassy in Ouagadougou, to demand an end to French interference in their country.
According to Agence France-Presse, the demonstrators set fire to protective barriers near the headquarters of the French embassy in Ouagadougou, and threw stones inside the building, on which French soldiers were stationed on its roof.
The demonstrators removed the barbed wire in an attempt to climb the wall surrounding the building, while soldiers from inside the embassy responded by firing tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
The demonstrators chanted slogans against France and its colonial policies, and raised Russian flags.
In turn, the ruling military council in Burkina Faso, led by its new president, Ibrahim Traore, announced the reopening of the country's air borders, after the situation became under control.
The council said in a video statement broadcast by Burkina Faso TV today: "We want to inform the citizens that the situation is under control, and that things are gradually returning to normal, and we ask them to stay away from any acts of violence or sabotage, which may distort the efforts made."
Local officials had announced that the former head of the council, Paul-Henri Sandaugo Damiba, had submitted his resignation after local mediation, to avoid what he called "confrontations with dangerous humanitarian and material repercussions."
The capital, Ouagadougou, and the city of Bobo Dioulasso witnessed two demonstrations yesterday against the French intervention in their country, demanding an end to the French military presence in the Sahel region, and the establishment of military cooperation with Russia to confront terrorism.