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STORY: Gunfire was heard in Burkina Faso's capital on Saturday (October 1), the day after President Paul-Henri Damiba was ousted in the West African country's second military coup this year.

A foreign security source in Ouagadougou said there were reports of gunfire in several parts of the city as forces loyal to Damiba clashed with those supporting Captain Ibrahim Traore.

He's the self-declared leader who appeared on television on Friday (September 30) to announce that the government had been dissolved and the borders closed.

On Saturday a statement from Traore was read out on television by an army officer.

In it Traore said Damiba had taken refuge at a French army base and was planning a counter-offensive.

The French Embassy earlier denied any involvement by the French army in recent events in Burkina Faso and said the French forces were not protecting any Burkinabe authorities.

The fresh gunfire prompted some to run for cover and shop owners such as Savadogo to close early.

"After the closure, there were soldiers who came to tell us to calm down, that it's only them, but as civilians, we have to hide when there is shooting and then when it stops, life can resume as normal. Life can't go on when you hear shooting. It is not possible."

The upheaval reflects deep instability in Burkina Faso - where a rampant insurgency has undermined faith in the authorities and displaced almost two million people, according to aid groups.

Traore cited Damiba's failure to deal with militants as the reason for the coup.

Damiba toppled former President Roch Kabore in January over the same issue.