Protesters accuse Dabiré of inaction in the face of the rise in attacks by Islamist groups that have caused deaths and injuries in this capital and other cities of the small and impoverished West African country.

His resignation drags along that of the full cabinet, according to the Constitution, but members must continue in their functions until the formation of a new team in which it is possible that several names of the current one may appear.

In his resignation letter, Dabiré invited the population to mobilize in support of the head of state and the new executive and expressed his certainty that “with unity of action we will be able to confront the challenges faced by our people and our country”.

Since the end of last November, this capital and other cities in the country have been the scene of protests against what is seen as inaction by the government in the face of the growing wave of attacks by Islamist groups, affiliated with the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, which have cost the lives of dozens of civilians and military since they started in 2015.

In the most recent of these actions on November 14, 53 policemen and four civilians were killed in an attack by Islamists in northern region of Inata.

pgh/lcr