In a statement released this Sunday, João Lourenço reveals that Angola learned "with great concern" of Friday's coup d'état, carried out by a group of soldiers led by Burkinabe army captain Ibrahim Traoré, which overthrew the leader of the military junta who ruled the country, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
"As Champion of the African Union for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa, we strongly condemn this act and urge the Burkinabe coup plotters to facilitate the work of the current Transition authorities, aimed at complying with the transition schedule that provides for a return to constitutional order, until 1 July 2024", reads the statement, signed by João Lourenço.
Angola appeals to "the common sense of the coup actors for the well-being of Burkina Faso, the Sahel region and Africa in general", reiterating "solidarity of the Angolan people with the brother people of Burkina Faso in this period of profound political instability".
João Lourenço guarantees that Angola "continues to closely monitor the situation in Burkina Faso and is prepared to provide the necessary assistance to contribute to the eradication of cycles of political instability in Africa", which "extremely delay sustainable development" on that continent.
In a message addressed to the nation on Friday night, the perpetrators of the coup accused Damiba of deviating from the ideal of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration (MPSR), the name of the junta that seized power in the January 24 coup, and of not end the insecurity caused by 'jihadist' terrorism.
After a day of confusion marked by a military insurrection and shots fired in strategic areas of the capital, Ouagadougou, the authors of the coup announced the suspension of the Constitution and the Transitional Charter.
Likewise, the military led by Traoré, the country's new strongman, decreed the dissolution of the Government and the Transitional Legislative Assembly and instituted a curfew between 9 pm and 5 am.
The coup authors also ordered the closing of national borders and the suspension of all political and civil society activities.
