BURKINA FASO GOVT QUITS

BURKINA Faso’s Prime Minister Kadre Desire Ouedraogo has handed in his resignation and that of his government to president Blaise Compaore. The move was made “to allow the president to implement changes aimed at speeding up the objective of reaching consensus and the active participation of all the players on the socio-political scene,” according to a television report. Ouedraogo had led the prime minister’s post since 1996. Burkina Faso has been dogged by unrest since the December 1998 killing of prominent journalist Norbert Zongo. An independent inquiry set up soon afterward concluded that he had been killed and pointed to members of Compaore’s presidential guard as “serious suspects.” – AFP