MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Burkina Faso’s new authorities, including the newly-appointed president, Captain Ibrahim Traore, have already taken the first steps towards restoring constitutional order, Russia’s embassy to Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso told TASS on Friday.
"On October 5, the new authorities of Burkina Faso signed a fundamental act on the further functioning of the state in the transitional period. The new authorities announced the restoration of the country's Constitution, with the exception of provisions that contradict the adopted act. We believe that these are the first steps towards restoring the constitutional order to the country," the embassy said.
The embassy stressed that Russia had been Burkina Faso’s traditional partner since independence: "This approach has never changed."
Government coup
On September 30, a group of army officers ousted President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, disbanded the government and suspended the constitution and any political activity.
On October 2, Colonel Damiba, who himself came to power in January this year as a result of a coup, signed voluntary resignation. Later, the French news agency France-Presse (AFP) quoted a televised statement made by the new authorities Traore had been officially appointed president and supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Observers note that the coup in Burkina Faso took place against the background of growing activity by terrorist groups in the north and west of the country and the inability of the armed forces to put the situation under control even with the help of the French military. Thousands of civilians, police and military personnel have died at the hands of illegal armed groups over years.