Burkina's defiant presidential guard

Sylvere Koffi runs a network in Ivory Coast campaigning for small arms control, peace and regional security. The north of his country shares a border with Burkina Faso. "We are very worried," he told DW. "We are neighbors and everything that happens in one country affects the other."

Recent events in Burkina Faso have given cause for alarm. On Tuesday (29.09.2015) government troops took up positions outside the base of the presidential guard (RSP). Ouagadougou airport was closed. Fighting later broke out between the government troops and the RSP. The army stormed the RSP barracks and according to a DW correspondent in the vicinity the RSP surrendered and handed over their weapons. General Diendere, commander of presidential guard, who recently led a short-lived coup, had urged his men in a radio broadcast to stand down. Casualty figures are unknown. Diendere himself is believed to be in hiding.

There was an earlier stand-off between government troops and the RSP just over two weeks ago. On September 16, the RSP under Diendere's command ousted Burkina Faso's transitional government in a coup. A week later, the coup leaders and the transitional government settled their differences in a deal brokered by regional mediators. The transitional government was returned to power and at the first post-coup cabinet meeting a decree was issued disbanding the presidential guard. Members of the RSP were to hand over their weapons to the regular army. There were pledges of safety for RSP members and their families. Official demobilization of the RSP began at the weekend.

The RSP and the army

"We were glad when we heard that things were going well," Koffi said. "Until it emerged that there had been a hitch. "The transitional government announced on Monday that Diendere had urged his men to resist demobilization and they were refusing to hand in their weapons. The RSP also took hostages: members of their own unit who had wanted to surrender their arms and government troops who had been tasked with collecting the weapons.

The RSP belongs to the armed forces but there are differences that set it apart. "The RSP is an elite force. It is one of the best equipped units as far as weapons and technology are concerned," said Koffi. Gilles Yabi from the Senegal-based pro-democracy think tank WATHI shares this view. "The RSP are much stronger than the rest of the Burkinabe army and they are prepared to turn violent," he said. The RSP can therefore stand in the way of civilian-led political change.

The RSP was founded by President Blaise Compaore, who ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years before he was ousted in a popular uprising, mounted mostly by young people, and forced into exile in Ivory Coast in 2014. The RSP's purpose had been to keep Compaore in power. To this day, Diendere and the RSP are regarded as Compaore loyalists, even though the former coup leader denied in an interview with DW that the presidential guard was "Compaore's military wing."

No quick solution

The transitional government, which was to lead Burkina Faso into democratic elections following Compaore's departure, announced some time ago that it intended to abolish the RSP. This move is seen by some as the reason for the coup in the mid-September. The question whether the future of the RSP should be decided by the transitional government or by a new administration legitimized by elections was hotly disputed during mediation efforts immediately after the coup.

In the meantime, however, the transitional government has dissolved the RSP by cabinet decree. "They want to solve the problem permamently," said Yabi. "But it won't be easy. Any attempt to disarm the RSP quickly will be full of risks." Koffi agrees. "It has to be done slowly," he said. The transitional government may be forced to review its demobilization strategy. "But in a nation state, the army - with or without an elite unit - has to subject itself to a higher authority." Koffi hopes that RSP's weapons will be registered and tracked according to international conventions. "Otherwise we fear they will fall into the wrong hands. And that would make things even worse," he said.

Frejus Quenum contributed to this report