Panafrican News Agency

Burkina Faso: Count me out of coup - Ex-FM

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Former Burkina Faso Foreign Affairs Minister Gen. Djibrill Bassole has denied accusations by the country's Interim Government linking him with the recent Gen. Gilbert Diendéré-led coup.

''It’s with anger but not surprise that I learnt about the communiqué of the acting government who associates me with a destabilization enterprise,'' Bassole said in a declaration on Monday

Mr Bassole, who was barred from contesting for the presidency because he served in the government of ousted President Blaise Compaore, said the accusation was part of a campaign to demonize him.

On Monday, Burkina Faso's Interim Government accused the putschists of calling for ''foreign forces'' and ''Jihadists'' to achieve their ''fatal goal''.

It said the coup was about a group manipulated by Gen. Diendéré, former Chief of Staff to Compaoré, and his former head of diplomacy, Bassolé.
-0- PANA NDT/JSG/MSA/SEG 29Sept2015