Soldiers declare military junta in control in Burkina Faso

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — More than a dozen mutinous soldiers declared that a military junta has seized control of Burkina Faso in West Africa. The announcement happened Monday on state television. The military detained the democratically elected president following a day of gunbattles in the capital. The military coup in a nation that was once a bastion of stability was the third of its kind in the region in the last 18 months. The coups have created upheaval in some of the countries hardest hit by Islamic extremist attacks. A military captain said the soldiers acted because of the deteriorating security situation and the president’s inability to manage the crisis.