Togo’s government has confirmed reports that Burkina Faso’s ousted coup leader Paul-Henri Damiba fled there following a mutiny of junior officers. Meanwhile, ECOWAS envoys were being sent to Ouagadougou.
Damiba himself was sworn in as president in February after taking power in a January coup
Togo’s government said on Monday that ousted Burkina Faso coup leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba had taken refuge there in the aftermath of the latest military putsch in Ouagadougou on Friday.
The minister of communication and government spokesman, Akodah Ayewouadan, said Damiba was in Togo as part of the country’s commitment to “peace in the sub-region.”
“Togo, like ECOWAS, welcomes the fact that the spirit of peace has prevailed,” he told the AFP news agency. “The reception of … Damiba is part of this spirit.”
Unconfirmed reports of Damiba’s presence in Togo, originating from diplomatic sources, had circulated over the weekend as the two military leaders and their supporters vied for control of the country.
Captain Ibrahim Traore had blamed Damiba’s forces for conducting a “counteroffensive” with French assistance, prompting a categorical denial from France and violence at the country’s embassy in Ouagadougou. Damiba had issued a statement calling on the breakaway military leaders to “come to their senses.”
Burkina Faso’s self-declared new leader Ibrahim Traore is welcomed by supporters
