“When constitutional coups are ignored by the international community, they inadvertently create a fertile ground for military coups,” David Otto from the Geneva Centre for Africa Security and Strategic Studies tells TRT World
When gunfire reverberated outside the presidential palace in the capital of Guinea-Bissau last week, the events unfolding in the small West African coastal nation appeared to confirm the existence of a dangerous ‘domino effect’ in the region. The coup attempt, which left at least six people dead, was thwarted.
In Guinea, discontent towards the government of President Alpha Conde grew when he bypassed constitutional term limits to stay in power. “Burkinabes also see the coup as an anti-French resistance, as is the case in neighbouring Mali,” he argues. “Africa is harvesting the consequences of the war on terror,” Olawale Ismail, a senior lecturer at King's College, London’s African Leadership Centre tells TRT World.
A man holds a portait of Lt Col Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba as people rally in support of the new military junta in Burkina Faso on January 25, 2022. “Democrats who change the constitution to stay in power must be treated the same as military juntas who overthrow the constitution by the barrel of a gun.
“A constitutional coup is used to justify a military coup, while a coup to foil a coup is used to justify a potential military coup,” he argues. “This is the vicious cycle of coups ongoing in Africa at the moment.”
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