For his part, Senegal’s President Macky Sall deplored a “lack of dialogue” as mediators entered a second day of talks between the interim and coup leader.
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Burkina Faso, whose citizens toppled President Blaise Compaore past year as he sought to extend his 27-year rule, had been seen as a model by pro-democracy campaigners across sub-Saharan Africa.
After his first meeting with Diendere on Friday, Sall said: “We must create a dynamic of national reconciliation…to allow the country to reposition itself on its path and on its march to democracy”. Some of the attackers carried signs expressing support for the current military government and were headed by the elite presidential guard, the RSP, witnesses said.
In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, the general said the scheduled October 11 election date was too soon. Earlier Saturday, anti-coup demonstrators burned tires at roadblocks in Burkina Faso’s capital and shouted slogans denouncing Diendere.
The scuffle came a day after Benin’s President Thomas Boni Yayi, who was in Ouagadougou meeting both sides in the standoff, announced “all the actors” in the crisis would meet Sunday to announce “good news”.
Peace negotiations convened in the wake of last week’s military coup in Burkina Faso descended into chaos on Sunday night after fights erupted at the hotel where the talks were being held.
Members of the presidential guard (RSP), some wearing balaclavas hiding their faces, burst into the Leico Hotel in the capital Ouagadougou brandishing assault rifles, pistols and shotguns as participants arrived for the talks.
Ifoh, who is the leader of the Pan-African development movement, calls for the reinstatement of the Interim President, Kafando as well as the subsequent release of the Prime Minister, who is under house arrest.
Following the announcement of the coup on Thursday, the African Union swiftly suspended Burkina Faso and the United States, France and others sharply condemned the military power grab.
The deal also calls for the reinstatement of candidates with close links to Compaore, who were excluded from running in the polls under a law passed by the transitional authorities.
A former French colony previously named Upper Volta, Burkina Faso has had a long history of instability since it gained independence in 1960. “We are free”, France’s ambassador to Burkina Faso Gilles Thibault said via his Twitter account.
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A curfew is in place across the country from 7pm (8pm BST) until 6am tomorrow and land and air borders have been closed.
