Burkina Faso: Army moves to disarm presidential guard

“We ask them to lay down their arms and go the Sangoule Lamizana camp where they and their families will be safe”, it said, referring to a military barrack west of the capital.

According to Al Jazeera, the heads of the country’s military said troops would be converging on the capital of Ouagadougou to try to disarm the coup government without bloodshed.

The soldiers who seized power last week belong to a presidential guard unit that is loyal to ex-President Blaise Compaore.

The coup leaders have announced the dissolution of the interim government and parliament, which had been tasked with leading the political transition in the African nation after Compaore’s ouster in 2014.

There have been series of protests in the wake of the coup, and reports show that this protests have led to violent clashes with over ten people dead and several scores injured.

“They are trying to take over and ruin the changes we had to bring democracy to our country”, argued Savadogo, a St. Cloud State University student.

The overthrow of the civilian interim government – carried out by the presidential guard – was widely condemned.

He spoke after French ambassador Gilles Thibault tweeted that interim president Michel Kafando, who had been under house arrest, was now “at the French residence”.

Gen Diendere said his presidential guard unit “confirms our commitment to giving power back to civilian authorities”. With peace now prevailing, the military coup d’état in Burkina Faso is sending fears amongst regional leaders that something might be afoot if the situation is not handled speedily. Senegalese President Macky Sall said that Diendere would step down in exchange for the participation of Compaore in the October elections.

On Sunday night, regional mediators from other west African states announced a plan that called for new elections by the end of November, with a concession that would allow loyalists of the former longtime president to take part in the vote. Diendere, the general installed as president Thursday, is a former top aide to the ousted leader.

He concluded: “We join the United Nations, African Union and Ecowas in their condemnations of this unsafe and reckless putsch”.

“The bodies are not even buried and (they want) an amnesty”.

“I, General Diendere, accept the freeing of Zida by way of appeasement, in line with the draft agreement”, he said during the speech, adding that he would also reunify the armed forces.

The RSP frequently operates independently from other forces, and it was not yet clear how much support they had from the rest of the military. Compaore’s party was banned from running in the elections.