Burkina Faso’s interim president Michel Kafando, who was deposed last week during a coup, will be returned to office on Wednesday, putsch leader General Gilbert Diendere told AFP on Tuesday.
Advertisement
It was clear that the old-style African coups, where military men push out governments and take over, are no longer sustainable, with regional and worldwide leaders willing to cut aid, impose sanctions and isolate leaders who seize power.
According to an ECOWAS statement, summit participants had decided “to dispatch to Ouagadougou on September 23 a high committee of heads of state and government comprising [representatives from] Benin, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo”.
The presidential guard is loyal to Blaise Compaore, the country’s long-time ruler who was ousted in a popular uprising previous year.
At about the same time, around 3 miles away, coup leader General Gilbert Diendere appeared at the airport, backed by a contingent of his presidential guard, to welcome regional leaders arriving to try to negotiate an end to the crisis.
Bukina Faso’s military overthrew the country’s transitional government Thursday and declared control, sending the West African nation into turmoil weeks before elections are scheduled to take place.
French ambassador Gilles Thibault tweeted that interim President Michel Kafando, who had been under house arrest, was now “at the French residence”.
Soldiers yesterday fired warning shots to disperse a crowd of more than 100 people gathered in Independence Square in Ouagadougou to protest against the presidential guard, a witness said.
Zida was released on Tuesday hours after army soldiers entered Ouagadougou without resistance.
Members of the presidential guard unit agreed to leave their positions in the capital, remain in their barracks and said they would allow an inventory of their weapons.
Democratic transition Burkina had been preparing for an election on October 11th which analysts now expect to be delayed.
It is not clear whether the mediators’ peace plan includes key RSP demands for an amnesty for the coup leaders and the lifting of an electoral ban on those connected to Mr Compaore.
Advertisement
The coup had sparked global condemnation, with France urging the leaders to surrender immediately or face the “consequences”, including possible sanctions.
