Shots heard near Burkina Faso presidential palace, national TV cut off

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Witness statements confirm hearing shots on Friday around Burkina Faso's presidential palace and the headquarters of its military junta currently in power, as troops blocked Ouagadougou's streets and state television broadcasting was cut, AFP reported.

As of now, the reason behind the gunfire and the detonations are not announced, and a resident close to the presidential palace told AFP, "I heard heavy detonations around 4:30 am and now the roads around my home have been sealed off by military vehicles." 

Burkina Faso's insurgency in 2015 has witnessed thousands of deaths and the displacement of about two million, and attacks have increased ever since Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba ousted elected leader Roch Marc Christian Kabore and claimed power in January following a military coup.

The attacks have been affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group even after Damiba earlier this month dismissed his defense minister and assumed the position himself. Only one new minister has been introduced into the transitional government, Colonel-Major Silas Keita, who is assigned to be responsible for national defense and was promoted to brigadier general. 

On September 28, a convoy carrying supplies was attacked in the town of Djibo, leaving 11 soldiers killed and around 50 civilians missing. More than 40% of the African nation, previously a French colony, is not under government control as most of the Sahel, including Niger and Mali, is suffering from the outcomes of the insurgency, which is beginning to spill over into the Ivory Coast and Togo.

On January 31, Burkina was suspended by the African Union "until the effective restoration of constitutional order." The UN Security Council on February 9 expressed "serious concern" over the country's "unconstitutional change of government" but chose not to describe it as a military coup or even condemn it outright.

Burkina Faso is one of the world's poorest countries and one of the most volatile in Africa.

Mali witnessed a large presence of French forces for nearly a decade, but French President Emmanuel Macron decided to withdraw his troops and the Malian military took over. The last French troops from Barkhane departed last month.

A report in April by the German think tank, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said, "The deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso and Mali has made the north of the coastal countries the new front line against armed groups operating in the Sahel".