Captain Ibrahim Traore has been appointed as president of Burkina Faso after Paul-Henri Damiba was removed in the West African country’s second coup in less than nine months.
A statement read on national television said Mr Traoré, an army captain, was also appointed Supreme Head of the Armed Forces.
The statement signed by spokesman for the ruling junta Captain Kiswendsida Farouk Azaria Sorgho, added that Traore would now be the “guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity… and continuity of the State.”
Damiba fled to Togo following the two-day standoff, which was defused by religious and community leaders.
With his appointment, the 34 year old junta leader is officially Africa’s current youngest Head Of State. He is 11 years younger than Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed who is currently 45 years old.
Burkina is struggling with a seven-year-old jihadist campaign that has claimed thousands of lives, forced nearly two million people to flee their homes and left more than a third of the country outside government control.
Swelling anger within the armed forces prompted Damiba’s coup against the elected president in January.
Appointing himself transitional head of state, Damiba had vowed to make security the country’s top priority — but after a brief lull the attacks revived, claiming hundreds of lives.
