Askari Kanzu
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- Jan 7, 2011
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Gunfire at Burkina Faso presidential complex
Military bodyguards demanding housing allowance start shooting in the leader's compound, but he was not in the palace.
Last Modified: 15 Apr 2011 07:31
President Blaise Compaore was reportedly not in the compound when the shooting broke out [GALLO/GETTY]
Gunfire erupted at Burkina Faso's presidential compound, as military bodyguards demanding reportedly unpaid housing allowances began firing their weapons. President Blaise Compaore was not in the 50-acre compound on Thursday night, a source told the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity.
The shooting came from the military barracks of the presidential guard, the source said. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties, but an ambulance was later seen leaving the compound in the capital Ouagadougou, said the AFP news agency. A military official also said the home of General Dominique Diendiere, Compaore's chief of staff, was "trashed".
"A couple of young soldiers have gone crazy," a source at the barracks told AFP. "We're dealing with it."
Violence spreads
About two hours after the shooting began at 10pm local time, gunfire was also heard near the state radio station in the capital city. Workers hid in the building, and no-one was reported injured.
Compaore, who seized power in a bloody coup 23 years ago, was re-elected in a landslide poll in November, rejected by the opposition as rigged. The former army captain took power in 1987 in the small West African nation after his predecessor was gunned down in his office. Burkina Faso has recently been hit by unrest. On April 8, people took to the streets of Ouagadougou to protest soaring prices of basic foods. In March, students torched government buildings in several cities to protest a young man's death in custody.
The government said he had meningitis, but accusations of mistreatment have fuelled deadly protests, killing at least six others in the town of Koudougou, 100km west of the capital. In late March, disgruntled troops seized military equipment in several towns, including Ouagadougou, looted shops and freed soldiers imprisoned for rape and other sex crimes, says AFP.
Burkina Faso is near the bottom of the United Nation's Human Development Index - which measures general well-being. It's ranked 161 out of 169 nations. It has high rates of unemployment and illiteracy, and most people survive on subsistence agriculture.
Al Jazeera
Military bodyguards demanding housing allowance start shooting in the leader's compound, but he was not in the palace.
Last Modified: 15 Apr 2011 07:31
President Blaise Compaore was reportedly not in the compound when the shooting broke out [GALLO/GETTY]
Gunfire erupted at Burkina Faso's presidential compound, as military bodyguards demanding reportedly unpaid housing allowances began firing their weapons. President Blaise Compaore was not in the 50-acre compound on Thursday night, a source told the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity.
The shooting came from the military barracks of the presidential guard, the source said. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties, but an ambulance was later seen leaving the compound in the capital Ouagadougou, said the AFP news agency. A military official also said the home of General Dominique Diendiere, Compaore's chief of staff, was "trashed".
"A couple of young soldiers have gone crazy," a source at the barracks told AFP. "We're dealing with it."
Violence spreads
About two hours after the shooting began at 10pm local time, gunfire was also heard near the state radio station in the capital city. Workers hid in the building, and no-one was reported injured.
Compaore, who seized power in a bloody coup 23 years ago, was re-elected in a landslide poll in November, rejected by the opposition as rigged. The former army captain took power in 1987 in the small West African nation after his predecessor was gunned down in his office. Burkina Faso has recently been hit by unrest. On April 8, people took to the streets of Ouagadougou to protest soaring prices of basic foods. In March, students torched government buildings in several cities to protest a young man's death in custody.
The government said he had meningitis, but accusations of mistreatment have fuelled deadly protests, killing at least six others in the town of Koudougou, 100km west of the capital. In late March, disgruntled troops seized military equipment in several towns, including Ouagadougou, looted shops and freed soldiers imprisoned for rape and other sex crimes, says AFP.
Burkina Faso is near the bottom of the United Nation's Human Development Index - which measures general well-being. It's ranked 161 out of 169 nations. It has high rates of unemployment and illiteracy, and most people survive on subsistence agriculture.
Al Jazeera