[4] After 2014 Burkinabé uprising, on 1 November 2014, Lieutenant Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida – deputy commander of the Regiment of Presidential Security – briefly took over as Acting President following Compaoré's ouster.

[5] In 1998, David Ouedraogo – the driver of the President's brother François Compaoré – was murdered, which triggered an investigation by the journalist Norbert Zongo, the most prominent government critic in the country at the time.

[10] After President Compaoré resigned on 31 October 2014 as a result of protests against his proposal to abolish presidential term limits, the RSP staged a coup on 16 September 2015 after its disbandment was recommended, seizing control of Ouagadougou.

However, after popular opposition and action by the regular military, transitional President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Yacouba Zida were restored to their positions on 23 September 2015.

[11] The Regiment of Presidential Security had a prominent role in quelling the 2011 Burkinabé protests, which erupted in February and continued until a settlement was reached in June.

[14] On 11 April 2012, a soldier who had deserted from the Regiment, Romuald Tuina, robbed a Ouagadougou bank in broad daylight, carrying off more than seven million CFA francs and fleeing to Ivory Coast.

On the night of 30–31 August 2013, Tuina – having returned to Burkina Faso – attempted to assassinate Compaoré, opening fire on the President's office after breaking into the presidential palace dressed in a military uniform.

[15][16] After 27 years of rule, President Blaise Compaoré attempted to remove the constitutional limit on presidential terms, allowing him to run again in the 2015 election.

Traoré was however rejected by many protesters as a close ally of Compaoré, and within a short time Lieutenant Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida also claimed the position.

Over the following days Zida met with various political leaders and societal figures, attempting to negotiate a solution to the crisis and create a national unity government.

[24][25] The new military junta failed to consolidate its authority across the country and faced protests from regional leaders, and eventually from the regular army, to restore the transitional government.