Burkina Faso ex-president Compaore takes Ivorian nationality

Published February 24, 2016

The former longtime ruler of Burkina Faso who faces an arrest warrant has taken Ivorian citizenship in a move critics say blocks him from being extradited.

Blaise Compaore, who was president for nearly three decades, fled to Ivory Coast in October 2014 during a popular insurrection.

The decree granting him his new nationality appeared online this week though apparently had been granted the month after he fled back in 2014.

Compaore faces assassination charges before a military court in connection with the death of iconic leader Thomas Sankara during the 1987 coup that brought Compaore to power.

On Wednesday, critics accused Compaore of changing his nationality to avoid extradition.

There was no immediate reaction from Compaore, whose wife is Ivorian.

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