OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, April 15 (UPI) -- Unrest in Burkina Faso marked a new phase since February when presidential guards turned on the country's president, an analyst said.
Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore returned to the nation's capital after fleeing a Thursday mutiny by his own presidential guards.
Commercial activity in Burkina Faso ground to a halt after 10 people were injured in clashes at a military base in the nation's capital in early March.
The president in late March called for general talks with military officials, though the country since February has experienced growing unrest.
Burkina Faso hasn't been plagued by civil conflict since the current government came to power in a 1987 coup. The country was one of the lead negotiators in the political stalemate in neighboring Ivory Coast, where fighting has dragged on since November.
David Zounmenou, an analyst on African conflict at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, told Bloomberg News the escalation in conflict means Compaore's days are numbered.
"It may be the end of Blaise Compaore's rule," Zounmenou was quoted as saying. "The youth are inspired by what is happening in North Africa and you add to this the unhappiness within the army. He might have to think about a transition."
Compaore has been president since 1987.
