Burkina Faso’s Black Spring

The situation in Burkina Faso has deteriorated from bad to worse. The African country’s parliament was set to vote on legislation that presumably would have allowed President Blaise Compaore to seek another term. As mentioned earlier this week at Freefire blog here, “the potential for violence is a legitimate fear.” It is no longer a fear, it is a reality. Protestors against the referendum set fire to the parliament building, as well as other government buildings, and also descended to Ouagadougou Square in the capital, calling for the president’s immediate resignation. Ministers and MP’s have fled the buildings and the vote on eliminating the country’s term limits is not on hold. The military has also announced that the government and the parliament have been dissolved amid the crisis. There has yet to be a military response to the protests, and some military are believed to have joined the protestors. Opposition leader Zephrin Diabre has called all the military to side with the people, a call some have seemingly answered.