Coup leader tried, and failed, to persuade the Burkina Faso president to sanction the introduction of Russian mercenaries before kicking him out of office.
Summary
- ABUJA, Nigeria—One of the Burkina Faso president’s final acts in office was refusing to sanction the use of Russian paramilitaries on his soil.
- The leader of this week’s successful military coup against him was the very man who tried to pressure him into accepting help from Moscow, sources in the former president’s camp told The Daily Beast.
- Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, a lieutenant colonel, was promoted last month to oversee security in the capital city of Ouagadougou.
- This month, Damiba held a meeting with the president and implored him to bring in the Wagner Group to bring the fighting under control.
- “Again, the president rejected the idea.”Sources say it was the last time 41-year-old Damiba communicated with Kabore.