The military junta in Burkina Faso has seized power in the West African nation of Burkina Faso, after detaining the country’s democratically elected President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

The Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration “has decided to assume its responsibilities before history”, Captain Sidsore Kaber Ouedraogo said.
The spokesperson for the junta said that the coup had taken place “without any physical violence against those arrested, who are being held in a safe place, with respect for their dignity”.

It is currently not known where Kabore is being held. The junta has also suspended the country’s constitution and dissolved the assembly. The coup in Burkina Faso, which was once a bastion of stability, was the third of its kind in the region in the last 18 months.

Burkina Faso mutinous soldiers guard the entrance of the national television station in Ouagadougou, Monday Jan. 24, 2022. 
People cheer in support of putschist soldiers near the national television station in Ouagadougou, Monday Jan. 24, 2022. 
People cheer in support of putschist soldiers near the national television station in Ouagadougou, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.
Two mutinous soldiers told The Associated Press that Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore is being held by the rebellious soldiers. 
In this image made from video, Burkina Faso mutinous soldiers walk outside the Guillaume Ouedraogo military camp in Ouagadougou, Monday Jan. 24, 2022. 
In this image made from video, Burkina Faso mutinous soldiers look at a wreaked car outside the Guillaume Ouedraogo military camp in Ouagadougou Monday Jan. 24, 2022.
A crowd gathered Place de la Nation celebrate at the announcement that Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba has taken the reins of the country in Ouagadougou Monday Jan. 24, 2022.