Burkina Faso appoints new army chief

57-year-old army inspector Colonel Major Oumarou Sadou has been appointed chief of staff of the armed forces of Burkina Faso on Thursday.

His appointment comes two weeks after a major terrorist attack against the army that shook the country.

The senior officer who had previously been Chief of Staff of the Army in 2011, replaces General Pingrénoma Zagré, according to a report by the Council of Ministers.

According to Burkina Faso president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on Twitter, “the appointment is part of the reorganization of the armed forces.”

Colonel Major Sadou is a native of the northern Sahelian part of the country regularly attacked by terrorist attacks.

On December 12, 12 soldiers were killed during an attack on an army detachment in Nassoumbou, some 30 kilometers from the Malian border. This is considered the deadliest attack against the Burkina Faso army.