ECOWAS chairman praises "progress" in Burkina Faso

The president of Guinea-Bissau and current chairman of ECOWAS, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, visited Ouagadougou on Sunday to discuss the timeframe for the transition to civilian rule in the country. 

At the end of January, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who was accused of having been unable to curb the jihadist violence, and made the restoration of security his "priority".

"The major aspects and axes that we believe are important for the transitional government to focus on are the security challenge, humanitarian issues, the return to constitutional order and the mobilization of resources and the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation mechanism including the ECOWAS mediator, the African Union and the UN representatives in Ouagadougou", said Umaro Sissoco Embalo.

During the visit, the recently-appointed chairman of ECOWAS praised the progress made in the security situation.

"We also congratulate the government on the progress we have seen on the ground, and I think that all of us must mobilize alongside our brothers and sisters in Burkina Faso. As you know, Burkina Faso is a founding member of ECOWAS, so despite this situation, we must stand with them, and we call for a mobilization behind the transitional government", he said. 

Since 2015, like its neighbours Niger and Mali, Burkina Faso has been caught up in a spiral of violence attributed to armed jihadist movements.