Coup Ousts Burkina Faso Leader
A military coup today ousted the leader of the impoverished landlocked West African nation of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, according to the national radio.
The radio report identified the coup leader as Blaise Compaore, a former minister of state and of justice. No other details were provided, and Sankara’s fate was not known. Witnesses earlier had reported shooting outside the presidential palace in the capital, Ouagadougou. Sankara took power in the country, formerly called Upper Volta, in a 1983 military coup.
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