Demonstrators have set the Burkina Faso
parliament on fire in a surge of violence has
that forced the government to scrap a vote on
plans to allow President Blaise Compaoré to
extend his 27-year rule.
The United States and former colonial power
France voiced alarm over the unrest in the
west African nation and appealed for calm.
Hundreds of people broke through a heavy
security cordon and stormed the National
Assembly building in the capital
Ouagadougou, ransacking offices and setting
fire to cars, before attacking the national
television headquarters and moving on the
presidential palace. One man was reportedly
killed.
Lawmakers were due to vote on the
legislation that would allow Compaoré – who
took power in a 1987 coup – to contest next
year’s election. The government, facing its
worst crisis since a wave of mutinies shook
the country in 2011, later announced it was
calling off the vote but it was not
immediately clear if this was a temporary
move.
Black smoke billowed out of smashed
windows at the parliament building, where
several offices were ravaged by flames,
including the speaker’s office, although the
main chamber so far appeared to be
unscathed.
Several hundred protesters also broke into
the headquarters of the national television
station RTB, the correspondents said.
Crowds of people later massed near the
presidential palace but were being held back
by troops from the presidential guard who
fired warning shots into the air.
The ruling party headquarters in the second
city of Bobo Dioulasso and the city hall were
also set alight by protesters, witnesses said.
“The president must deal with the
consequences,” said Benewende Sankara, one
of the leaders of the opposition, which had
called for the people to march on parliament
over the Compaoré law.
The United States said it was “deeply
concerned” about the crisis and criticised the
attempts to alter the constitution, while
France appealed for calm and said it
“deplored” the violence.
The European Union had also urged the
government to scrap the legislation, warning
it could “jeopardise ... stability, equitable
development and democratic progress”.
Several thousand protesters marched through
the capital on Wednesday, the day after
street battles erupted during a mass rally by
hundreds of thousands against what they
branded a constitutional coup by supporters
of the 63-year-old strongman.
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