Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been inaugurated as the country’s president, weeks after he led a coup that overthrew democratically-elected Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

In a televised ceremony, Damiba swore to “preserve, respect, uphold and defend the Constitution”, the nation’s laws, and a “fundamental act” of key decisions approved by the junta, which took power on January 24, 2022.

Damiba cited Kabore inability to curb an insurgency that killed thousands of people and forced more than one million people to flee their homes in the country, as the reasons for the coup.

In January 2021, the Economic Community of West African States suspended Burkina Faso from its governing body. The military coup in Burkina Faso followed takeovers in Mali, Guinea, and Chad since 2020, raising fears among regional leaders, of its spread.