The leader of a coup in Burkina Faso said on Tuesday he was still in charge despite the passing of a a deadline set by loyalist soldiers for his forces to surrender or face attack.
Reuters
General Gilbert Diendere who seized power last week said he was ready to negotiate but awaited the outcome of a summit of West African regional leaders being held in Nigeria.
“I’m not stalling for time. I’m within the time allotted to me,” he told a news conference. “I am still the president of the National Democratic Council (junta).”
Few people ventured out onto the streets of the capital as the deadline set for 10.00 a.m. passed. Presidential guard forces loyal to Diendere held the presidential palace but troops opposing the coup held most other strategic points.
Loyalist troops said they were preparing to attack the Camp Naba Koom military base near the capital’s presidential palace, which is held by presidential guard troops who staged the coup.
A separate loyalist source said talks had restarted and the aim was to avoid violence.
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The coup derailed a transition in Burkina Faso, which had been preparing for an election on Oct. 11. That vote aimed to restore democracy nearly a year after an uprising toppled President Blaise Compaore who held power for 27 years in the landlocked West African country.
In one apparent olive branch, the coup leaders released interim prime minister Yacouba Isaac Zida, who had been held hostage since the revolt began, his adviser and another loyalist officer told Reuters.
Ex-spy chief Diendere and his presidential guard rebelled on Wednesday, raiding a cabinet meeting and detaining the president and other ministers.
PEACE DEAL REJECTED
After the coup, crowds took to the streets of the capital and other cities, calling on the rebels to end their revolt.
“They (the presidential guard) have until 10 a.m. to lay down their weapons and surrender at the Camp Sangoule Lamizana,” the loyalist officer said, referring to a military barracks west of the capital Ouagadougou.
“The prime minister is free. He has returned to his official residence (in the capital Ouagadougou),” said Lieutenant Boris Nadie, Zida’s aide-de-camp.
Interim President Michel Kafando, who was taken hostage in the coup and then placed under house arrest, sought protection in the French ambassador’s residence in the capital on Monday.
The results of the summit, chaired by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, was expected later on Tuesday. At issue, is a proposal by mediators from the West African bloc ECOWAS announced on Sunday for a draft agreement to end the crisis.
Supporters of the government rejected that proposal on the grounds that it gives amnesty to the coup leaders.
“We have no interest in the proposal that will be discussed at the summit because right now we are in the process of solving our own contradictions,” Sheriff Sy, president of the interim transitional council told Reuters.
His rejection of the proposal was echoed by members of civil society as well as by protesters in the capital Ouagadougou who burned tyres and blocked streets on Monday in a show of opposition to the ECOWAS move.
