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PoliticsBurkina Faso

Burkina Faso: PM resigns amid security crisis

December 9, 2021

Prime Minister Christophe Dabire submitted his resignation to the president, after terror attacks last month spurred protests calling for a government reshuffle.

https://p.dw.com/p/441Bf
Christophe Dabire
Prime Minister Christophe Dabire resigned after the president stressed the need for a "stronger" cabinet last month Image: Olympia de Maismont/AFP

Burkina Faso's Prime Minister, Christophe Dabire, resigned on Wednesday as the West African country's government comes under pressure amid a security crisis. 

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore has been under fire since al-Qaeda affiliated militants killed at least 49 military officers and at least 4 civilians in November.

The attack was one of the worst on the military in recent memory and sparked protests calling for a new prime minister. 

The government's secretary general read out a decree on public television that officially terminated the prime minister's term. 

The president has already reshuffled leadership of the armed forces. 

Police fire tear gas to disperse crowds in Ouagadoudou, Burkina Faso
Protests turned violent last month in Ouagadoudou, the capital city Image: OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT/AFP

What happens next? 

According to Burkina Faso law, the resignation of a prime minister also requires the resignation of the entire government.

But the outgoing government will remain in a caretaker capacity until a new one is formed, according to the government's secretary general Stephane Wenceslas Sanou.

President Kabore first appointed Dabire in early 2019, and again in 2021, after the president was re-elected for the second and last term.

Deteriorating security situation

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest nations in West Africa, and has been beset by terror attacks in recent years perpetrated by militant groups linked to al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State.

The attacks have claimed thousands of lives and forced more than a million people to flee their homes.

The country is also being affected by an Islamist insurgency that has hit large parts of neighboring Mali and Niger.

rm/wmr (Reuters, AFP)