News / Africa

Burkina Faso President Names New PM as Protests Spread

Anti-riot gendarmes prepare during a demonstration by some 300 shopkeepers near the Ouagadougou "Rood Wooko" great market, Burkina Faso, April 16, 2011
Anti-riot gendarmes prepare during a demonstration by some 300 shopkeepers near the Ouagadougou "Rood Wooko" great market, Burkina Faso, April 16, 2011
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Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore has named a new prime minister, as protests against the government continue to spread across the country.

Compaore named the current ambassador to France, Luc Adolphe Tiao, to the post late Monday.

Earlier in the day, student protesters burned down the headquarters of the ruling party in the western city of Koudougou, and also set fire to the former prime minister's house.  

And in another escalation of violence, police joined soldiers on a looting spree in the northern city of Kaya to protest that their housing and daily food allowances had not been paid. The Kaya protests marked the first time that police have taken part in the unrest.  Kaya is the fourth city in which army protests have occurred.

Anger in the country has been simmering since February, with protests against rising food prices, crime and the slow pace of reform by President Compaore's government.

Compaore dissolved his government and named a new army chief Friday in response to the protests.  His government has warned that protesting soldiers will face "the full force of the law."

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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