A closely-watched trial of Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore, former president, and members of his cabinet is under way in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Compaore, who fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast during a popular revolt in 2014 against his attempts to change the constitution and extend his 27-year-rule, is being tried in absentia.

Along with 34 ex-government ministers, Compaore faces assassination charges for allegedly authorising the use of force against unarmed protesters during the uprising that toppled him, killing at least 24 people.

READ MORE: Coup attempt thwarted, says Burkina Faso's government

Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting on Monday from outside the court in Ouagadougou, said defence lawyers had launched an appeal questioning the format of the trial.

"The judges who were nominated by the national assembly are in fact politicians belonging to the ruling party," he said, adding that a separate appeal had also been launched by the lawyers of the victims.

"They [victims] say they want to be represented in this trial - at the moment they are not, as they are being represented by the prosecution," Haque said.

'Important moment'

Some Burkinabes say they are disappointed that the post-Compaore government led by Roch Marc Kabore has not delivered on its reform pledges and express regret at Compaore's absence.

Still, they welcomed the opening of the trial - the first in a series of cases being investigated to be brought to trial.

"What most people here want is to see Compaore himself to take part in this trial," Haque said.

"So it's really an important moment for people in Burkina Faso - not only for justice but also to record the history of actually what happened during that uprising in October 2014."</s>The recording's emergence comes after Burkina Faso issued an arrest warrant for Ivory Coast's parliament speaker Guillaume Soro for alleged links to the coup, further straining relations between the two West African neighbours.

Burkina Faso authorities issued the warrant against Soro for crimes including complicity in treason last week on the basis of another recorded phone conversation.

Two Burkina Faso judicial officials vouched for the authenticity of the latest recording, obtained by Reuters on Friday. Ivorian authorities were not immediately available to comment.

Recorded at a time when loyalist troops were turning the tables against the putsch, a voice allegedly belonging to Ivory Coast military chief of staff General Soumaila Bakayoko asks coup leader General Gilbert Diendere for an update of the situation.

"The situation is a bit difficult," Diendere responds. "Among the officers there is some hesitation. I'm not saying I'm all alone. But many are very hesitant for their future."

Later, Bakayoko urges Diendere to go on the offensive or risk seeing the coup fail.

"They're going to pin it all on you. You have to know that. Politically, they are going to say 'You have the highest rank. You are the general," Bakayoko says.

"You are constrained to take action. So carry out something good."

Last September's brief coup by the elite Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) temporarily derailed Burkina Faso's transition to democratic rule after President Blaise Compaore was ousted in late 2014.

It failed after a week when loyalist regular army troops marched into the capital Ouagadougou and Diendere, Compaore's former spy chief, was arrested.

A judicial source involved in the cases against Diendere, Soro and ex-foreign minister Djibril Bassole said the recording was included in evidence files.

A second judicial source added that authorities had obtained a total of three gigabytes of digital recordings.

Compaore was driven from power and forced to flee Burkina Faso in October 2014 after a popular uprising following his attempt to alter the constitution to extend his 27-year rule. He now lives in exile in neighbouring Ivory Coast.

The two nations, once part of the same French colony share a history of close, often fraught, economic and political ties.

Soro and his New Forces rebels controlled northern Ivory Coast for eight years following a 2002 civil war and were accused by then Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's allies of receiving support from Compaore. Burkina Faso denied the allegation.

General Bakayoko was the military chief of staff of the rebels.

The New Forces played a crucial role in Ivory Coast's 2011 civil war, backing President Alassane Ouattara's claim to leadership after Gbagbo refused to recognise his election defeat.

Burkina Faso's RSP, a pillar of Compaore's regime, was disarmed and disbanded following last year's coup attempt.

But at least a dozen elite troops rejected the process and went missing. The army on Friday blamed ex-RSP members for an overnight raid on an armoury on the outskirts of Ouagadougou.

Coming less than a week after al Qaeda fighters killed 30 people in a restaurant and hotel in Ouagadougou popular with foreigners, the assault further exposes the security challenges facing new President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.</s>Trial of Burkina Faso's ex-leader Blaise Compaore adjourned

 

 The closely-watched and long-delayed trial of Blaise Compaore, Burkina Faso's former president, and members of his cabinet has been adjourned for a month after his lawyers claimed that he would not receive a fair hearing. Compaore, who fled to …</s>ABIDJAN, May 15 (Reuters) - Mutinous soldiers in Ivory Coast on Monday blocked the main border crossing with neighbouring Burkina Faso, residents and the head of a national transportation association said, as a four-day army mutiny worsened.

"It's today that it's really started on the border with Burkina Faso. Many trucks are blocked," Adama Toure, head of the association, said, referring to the border north of the Ivorian town of Ouangolodougou. Local residents and truck drivers also confirmed the closure. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)</s>ABIDJAN Mutinous soldiers in Ivory Coast on Monday blocked the main border crossing with neighbouring Burkina Faso, residents and the head of a national transportation association said, as a four-day army mutiny worsened.

"It's today that it's really started on the border with Burkina Faso. Many trucks are blocked," Adama Toure, head of the association, said, referring to the border north of the Ivorian town of Ouangolodougou. Local residents and truck drivers also confirmed the closure.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.</s>Attacks in Burkina Faso were rare before a major strike by al Qaeda-linked fighters on a hotel in the capital Ouagadougou killed 29 people in January.

Islamic militants are active in Burkina Faso's northern neighbour Mali and Burkinabe authorities are concerned the long desert border between the two countries could become a transit point for militants.

Friday's attack about 30 km (19 miles) from the Malian border began at around 5 a.m. (0500 GMT) and was carried out "by about 40 heavily armed individuals who have not yet been identified," the army said in a statement.

A newly-formed militant group led by a fighter formerly loyal to Algeria's Mokhtar Belmokhtar claimed to have attacked a Burkinabe military position in September and unidentified gunmen killed three Burkinabe soldiers and two civilians in October. (Reporting By Mathieu Bonkoungou; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg/Jeremy Gaunt)</s>The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Thursday, May 4, 2017, arrived in Ouagadougou, the capital of the Republic of Burkina Faso, to begin his 2-day tour of that country, with his agenda being "to develop the initiatives that will bring prosperity to our people." At a State Dinner held in his honour, and in responding to the remarks made by His Excellency Roch Marc Christian Kabore, President of the Republic of Burkina Faso, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the most important of these initiatives "are the regional projects in the area of infrastructure, and especially transportation."

Start the conversation, or Read more at GhanaWeb.</s>Dec 16 A dozen soldiers were killed in northern Burkina Faso when unidentified gunmen attacked a military post near the border with Mali, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said on Friday, calling the assailants "forces of evil".

Attacks in Burkina Faso were relatively rare before a major attack by al Qaeda-linked fighters on a hotel in the capital, Ouagadougou, that killed 29 people in January.

"This attack demonstrates that the fight against terrorism will be without respite and also underscores the necessary decisions that must be taken to give confidence and vitality to our army," Kabore said.

He said those killed were members of the army's special anti-terrorist group. The army had earlier said that 10 soldiers and one gendarme had been killed.

Islamic militants are active in Burkina Faso's northern neighbour, Mali, and Burkinabe authorities are concerned the long desert border between the two countries could become a transit point for militants.

Friday's attack about 30 km (19 miles) from the Malian border began around 5 a.m. (0500 GMT) and was carried out "by about 40 heavily armed individuals who have not yet been identified," the army said in its statement.

A newly formed militant group led by a fighter formerly loyal to Algeria's Mokhtar Belmokhtar claimed to have attacked a Burkinabe military position in September, and unidentified gunmen killed three Burkinabe soldiers and two civilians in October. (Reporting By Mathieu Bonkoungou; Writing by Aaron Ross and Joe Bavier; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg/Larry King)</s>A trial of Burkina Faso's former leader Blaise Compaore and his cabinet began on Monday after delays, with the court dismissing calls from the defense to cancel the proceedings. Compaore, who fled during a popular revolt in 2014 as he sought to extend his 27-year-rule of the West African country, is being tried in absentia.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>Ex-president, who is in Ivory Coast, accused of authorising the killings of unarmed protesters in October 2014 uprising.

A closely-watched trial of Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore, former president, and members of his cabinet is under way in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Compaore, who fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast during a popular revolt in 2014 against his attempts to change the constitution and extend his 27-year-rule, is being tried in absentia.

Along with 34 ex-government ministers, Compaore faces assassination charges for allegedly authorising the use of force against unarmed protesters during the uprising that toppled him, killing at least 24 people.

Some Burkinabes say they are disappointed that the post-Compaore government led by Roch Marc Kabore has not delivered on its reform pledges and express regret at Compaore's absence.

Still, they welcomed the opening of the trial - the first in a series of cases being investigated to be brought to trial.
A trial at a court in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, opens to try former President Blaise Compaoré and members of his cabinet in absentia. Burkina Faso accuses Compaoré, who is in exile in the Ivory Coast, of ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him in 2014.