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Protesters burn Parliament in Burkina Faso

The building was ransacked before it was set on fire.

By Ed Adamczyk
Blaise Compaore, 27-year President of Burkina Faso. UPI/John Angelillo
Blaise Compaore, 27-year President of Burkina Faso. UPI/John Angelillo | License Photo

OUGADOUGOU , Burkina Faso, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Protesters stormed Burkina Faso's Parliament and set it on fire Thursday, angered over plans to extend the 27-year rule of its president.

The city hall and headquarters of the ruling political party were also set fire in Ouagadougou, the West African country and former French colony known as Upper Volta prior to 1984.

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Parliament was about to debate a change in the country's constitution so that President Blaise Compoare could run for office again. Compoare seized power in 1987 and has won four disputed elections since. About 1,500 people charged into the Parliament building, ransacking it before it was set on fire, and heavy smoke could be seen rising from the building. There were no reports of injury. Thousands more protesters were in the streets of Ouagadougou, and state-run television went off the air Thursday.

Burkina Faso is regarded as a stable country with noticeable economic growth in a volatile region, the news organization Al Jazeera commented.

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