The military in the West African nation of
Burkina Faso dissolved the government, a
general said Thursday in the capital of
Ouagadougou.
Unrest has gripped Burkina Faso a key ally for
the West in the fight against al Qaeda as
protests against President Blaise Compaore's
government turned violent, culminating
Thursday with demonstrators storming the
Parliament and setting fire to the building.
"An interim authority will be set up in order
to prepare the conditions for the return to
normal constitutional order within a period of
12 months at the latest," Gen. Honore Nabere
Traore said.
The whereabouts of Compaore were not
immediately known, and it was not
immediately clear whether he had
surrendered control of the country.
Earlier in the day, Compaore took emergency
measures, asking in a government
communique read on national radio for an
end to the violence. He also withdrew a
proposed constitutional amendment that
included a provision that would allow him to
seek another term in office, according to the
communique.
Compaore, who has been in office since he
took power following a bloody coup in 1987,
also made an appeal via Twitter, urging for a
return to calm.
But it was unlikely to placate the opposition,
which called for his immediate resignation.
In Bobo-Dioulasso, the country's second
largest city, protesters reportedly tore down a
statue of Compaore.
The incident followed reports that a large
group of protesters had stormed the
Parliament building, where lawmakers were
set to vote on a motion to allow Compaore to
extend his 27 years of rule.
Footage aired by a number of the country's
media outlets show the Parliament building
engulfed in flames. There have been reports
of casualties in the violence, but has not been
evidence to confirm the claim.
Flights in and out of Ouagadougou have been
suspended, according to the Burkina Faso
Embassy in Washington.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on
all groups to end the violence, asking that
they "exercise calm and restraint."
The West, particularly France, considers
Burkina Faso a key ally in the fight against al
Qaeda.
France urged restraint in the current
situation. The French Foreign Ministry
condemned the violence.
The African Union announced it would deploy
troops alongside United Nations forces as part
of a joint mission to address the unrest.
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