Burkina Faso’s neighbours have condemned Friday’s apparent coup, saying it was “inappropriate” for army rebels to seize power when the country was working towards civilian rule.

Regional group Ecowas described the ousting of leader Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba as “unconstitutional”.

This is the second time this year the country’s army has seized power.

Both times, the coups’ leaders said they had to step in because national security was so dire.

Burkina Faso controls as little as 60% of its territory, experts say, and Islamist violence is worsening.

Flanked by rebel soldiers in fatigues and black facemasks, an army captain announced on national TV on Friday evening that they were kicking out junta leader Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba, dissolving the government and suspending the constitution.

Ibrahim Traoré said Lt Col Damiba’s inability to deal with an Islamist insurgency was to blame.

“Our people have suffered enough, and are still suffering”, he said.

He also announced that borders were closed indefinitely, a nightly curfew was now in place from 21:00 to 05:00, and all political activities were suspended.

“Faced with the deteriorating situation, we tried several times to get Damiba to refocus the transition on the security question,” said the statement signed by Traoré.

“Damiba’s actions gradually convinced us that his ambitions were diverting away from what we set out to do. We decided this day to remove Damiba,” it said.

Since the takeover there has been no word on the whereabouts of the ousted leader. – BBC