On 19 January 2019, the

government of Burkina Faso The Politics of Burkina Faso takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The President of Burkina Faso is the head of state. Ex ...

dissolved due to the resignation of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Paul Kaba Thieba and all members of his cabinet.

President of Burkina Faso This is a list of heads of state of Burkina Faso since the Republic of Upper Volta gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of seven people have served as head of state of Upper Volta/Burkina Faso (not counting four ...

Roch Marc Christian Kaboré Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (; born 25 April 1957) is a Burkinabé banker and politician who served as the President of Burkina Faso from 2015 until he was deposed in 2022. He was the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso between 1994 and 1996 and Pr ...

announced that he intends to form a new government; on 21 January, he began the process of appointing a new government by naming Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré as the new Prime Minister, but his cabinet remains vacant. In the days leading up to the resignation of the government, the country faced a number of attacks from militant terrorist groups, and opposition members of government had previously called for the prime minister and defense ministries to step down, citing an inability to address terrorist attacks.

Background

The resignations were announced on television by President Kaboré, but his announcement did not state any reasons for why his government resigned. Northern

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the country, particularly ones bordering

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesstate of emergency since 31 December, following a rise in jihadist attacks. In the week preceding these resignations, Burkina Faso's government extended the state of emergency for an additional six months in regions where terror attacks were reoccurring. According to the ACLED, at least 200 militant attacks were suspected throughout the country – including southern and western provinces – from 1 January 2018 to 12 January 2019. It is estimated that violence in the northern provinces has displaced at least 54,000 people since 2016. At least 60 attacks were confirmed by the ACLED to have happened in the country's eastern provinces since February 2018.

Attacks on the French Embassy and Burkinabé Army headquarters

In the capital city

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's ...

on Friday, 2 March 2018, jihadists initiated a coordinated attack against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

to Burkina Faso as well as the Burkina Faso army headquarters. Eight were killed and more than 80 wounded. Burkina Faso security forces later killed all eight militants involved. French authorities were alerted once gunfire began, and French citizens in the area were told to stay inside. Windows were shattered at the Burkinabé Army headquarters and heavy smoke could be seen from the army chief of staff's office in Ouagadougou, with explosions being reported around the area. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

condemned the attacks and

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

António Guterres requested that the nations of the world work to "promote national reconciliation and create the conditions for sustainable peace and development" in Burkina Faso. French

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Emmanuel Macron spoke with the Burkinabé President to express his condolences.

Kidnapping and murder of Canadian nationals

Days before the government resigned, it was confirmed by officials that a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

, Kirk Woodman, was abducted and killed at a mine exploration camp in the country's northern provinces near the border with Mali. He was the second Canadian national to be killed in the country within a span of weeks. The

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

of Canada condemned the attacks and stated that it will work with the government of Burkina Faso to pursue those responsible, and the Foreign Ministry of Burkina Faso stated that it will open an investigation. The Security Ministry of Burkina Faso believes that Islamist militants from outside of the country are responsible. Other Canadian nationals in Burkina Faso, including Edith Blais and her Italian partner Luca Tacchetto, have been known to be missing since December. Canadian

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

stated that to the best of his knowledge, Blais is still alive, and that Canadian authorities are working to gain information about her disappearance in Burkina Faso. In response to these abductions, Canada has issued travel warnings for Burkina Faso, warning of banditry and kidnappings. The United States issued a similar warning the same day, advising against travel to Burkina Faso's northern and eastern provinces. In the interests of public safety, Burkina Faso's government imposed a

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

in Orodara from 19 to 23 January, citing severe threats of terrorism and kidnappings.

Announcement of resignation

On the afternoon of 19 January, Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba submitted to the President his resignation, as well as the resignation of his cabinet. President Kaboré reportedly "accepted the resignation" and expressed "all his gratitude to Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba and all its ministers for their commitment to the service of the nation". In the months leading up to the resignation, opposition ministers have requested the resignation of the Prime Minister, as well as the resignation of those in charge of the security and defense of the country. The President announced that he intends to form a new government in the near future, but his televised announcement of the resignations did not include an explanation for why his government resigned. On Monday, 21 January, President Kaboré begun forming a new government by naming Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré, once a health minister under former President Blaise Compaore, as the country's Prime Minister. The new government has not yet been named, and the cabinet remains vacant as of 21 January. Dabiré had also represented Burkina Faso at the

West African Economic and Monetary Union The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

. He was appointed by

presidential decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

. Secretary-General Stéphane Sanou announced the appointment via television.

References

{{Reflist 2019 in Burkina Faso Burkina Faso–Canada relations Government of Burkina Faso January 2019 events in Africa