Burkina Faso’s military says it will install a transitional government in the West African nation.  But it comes as troops evicted thousands of pro-democracy protesters from the central Place de la Nation and placed barricades around government buildings in the capital city of Ouagadougou.

Troops also fired shots into the headquarters of the national broadcaster RTB and took over the building.  At least one person was killed.  The shots rang out after supporters of opposition leader Saran Sereme chanted slogans demanding she be made President.  Sereme spoke to protesters at the TV facility, but later said she was brought there by force.

The protesters are angry at what they see as the military hijacking a popular revolution that tossed out President Blaise Compaore after a 27-year reign.  Critics say Compaore didn’t reinvest the government’s earnings from the gold mining and cotton sectors back into things the nation needed, such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, et cetera. 

Now, the crowds are demanding the military follow the Burkina Faso constitution, which says the head of the National Assembly should take over government in the event of a presidential vacancy and schedule elections posthaste.  The UN is threatening sanctions if the military retains power.

Diplomats posit that the reason Compaore held on to power so long was to evade prosecution on human rights charges.  He took power after the assassination of former President Thomas Sankara, nicknamed “Africa’s Che Guevara”.  Sankara prioritized health and education; outlawed female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy; carried out agrarian land reform for social justice and to prevent famine.  Compaore, on the other hand, helped big powers like the US and France fight terrorism.