Soldiers say military junta now controls Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — More than a dozen mutinous soldiers declared Monday on state television that a military junta had seized control of Burkina Faso after the democratically elected president was detained following a day of gunbattles in the capital.

Capt. Sidsore Kaber Ouedraogo said that the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration would work to establish a calendar "acceptable to everyone" for holding new elections. He did not give details.

The statements came soon after ruling political party warned that soldiers had nearly completed a coup in the West African nation after trying to assassinate President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and taking control of public airwaves.

It was not clear who was in control of the country, which was once a bastion of stability in the region but has been beset by a deepening Islamic insurgency in recent years. The soldiers said the embattled president had been detained, but a statement on his Twitter account did not address whether he was in their custody.

"What appeared to be a simple mutiny by a few elements of the army" on Sunday was "moving hourly towards a military coup against our hard-won democracy," said the statement issued by Kabore's party.

The country's democracy is "being held hostage by a group of armed men with ulterior motives," the party warned.

The ruling party accused the mutinous soldiers of trying to assassinate Kabore and another government minister and said the presidential palace in Ouagadougou remained surrounded by "heavily armed and hooded men."

The president's tweet called on the soldiers to put down their arms, though it could not be confirmed whether he posted the statement himself.

Two soldiers told The Associated Press that they were holding the leader, but they would not say where they were keeping him. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Gunfire erupted early Sunday when soldiers took control of a major military barracks in the capital, Ouagadougou. In response, civilians rallied in a show of support for the rebellion but were dispersed by security forces firing tear gas. Burkina Faso has seen a series of anti-government protests as anger has mounted over the handling of the Islamic insurgency.

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Katie West • Times-Herald The Forrest City School Board met in regular session recently to discuss district business. Board members, pictured from left, are: Annie Winfrey, Sandra Taylor, Evette Boyd, Evetta Whitby and Larry Devasier. Board members Joey Astin and Yolanda Mason did not attend the meeting.