Senegalese President Macky Sall and Beninese President Thomas Yayi Boni, due in Ouagadougou as representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), were expected to ask coup leader Gilbert Diendere to hand power back to civilian authorities in the West African country.
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The coup has been condemned by the U.S. , former colonial power France and the UN. Most of the casualties were treated for gunshot wounds. “The patriotic forces, grouped together in the National Council for Democracy, have decided today to put an end to the deviant transitional regime“, Bamba said on RTB state television.
The presidential guard detained Kafando and the prime minister on Wednesday, and declared early Thursday that the transitional government had been dissolved.
Diendere promised to release the interim president and prime minister, who were arrested by presidential guard soldiers on Wednesday.
Jensen said that democracy in Burkina Faso was essential to stability in the country and the entire Sahel region and Denmark would continue to monitor the situation.
For a long time, Diendéré was the chief advisor of Blaise Compaoré, the president who was ousted in October 2014. The rebellion against Compaore was triggered by his bid to extend his already 27-year rule.
In the capital, amid growing calls for civil disobedience, the homes of two former Compaore allies – former Ouagadougou mayor Simon Compaore, and Salif Diallo, who had joined opposition ranks in 2014 – were ransacked overnight Friday, an AFP reporter saw.
The USA also threatened to suspend aid to Burkina Faso if the transitional government is not reinstated.
The coup leaders announced the dissolution of the transitional institutions and pledged to seek negotiations “to form a government which will dedicate itself to restoring political order in the country” before elections were held.
The military coup comes just weeks before national elections were to take place on October 11.
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The latest political unrest sparked violence in the streets, and the presidential guards fired live ammunition to disperse crowds protesting the coup, leaving at least six dead and dozens injured as of Friday morning, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
