7 June 2011
The Burkina Faso military has arrested 93 soldiers for alleged involvement in a mutiny after disgruntled troops wreaked havoc in the economic capital for days last week.
Six soldiers and a 14-year-old girl were killed in the southwestern city of Bobo Dioulasso on Friday when military units ended the rampage by the looting soldiers who demand higher wages.
“We have 93 mutineers,” said the operation’s commanding officer. “The clean-up operation is continuing. Every day there are arrests and we find arms and items that were stolen. We will carry on until the job is done,” he said.
Earlier protest
Protests broke out in Burkina Faso in February over high food prices, unemployment, rising costs and looting by troops.
Soldiers and paramilitary police joined the unrest in April, going on the rampage in several towns.
In a bid to quell the unrest, President Blaise Compaore fired army and police chiefs in April and formed a new government, naming himself defence minister, while promising subsidies on basic commodities and other urgent measures.
Source: AFP
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Burkina Faso: Govt Arrests 93 Soldiers After Mutiny