Article Posted on : - Apr 16, 2011

OUAGADOUGOU (AFP): Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore dissolved his government and named a new army chief Friday following a mutiny by members of his presidential guard.

In three separate decrees, Compaore announced that "the secretaries-general of the ministries will be in charge of current affairs" until a new cabinet of ministers is appointed on a date he did not specify.

He also named Colonel-Major Honore Nabere Traore as army chief to replace General Dominique Djindjere.

Mutiny broke out Friday in two barracks, including one in the compound of Compaore's residence in Ouagadougou, and spread to three other army bases in the capital today, mutineers and army officers said.

Both sides told AFP they were holding talks on the grievances of the soldiers, which included housing and food allowances, and a military source later said their demands had been met even as gunfire continued to be heard in the capital.

Compaore has faced a series of protests since February, staged first by students and then by soldiers.