Burkina Faso’s army has given the coup leader, Gen Gilbert
Diendere, an ultimatum to surrender or face an assault, as its troops
reach the capital, Ouagadougou.
Negotiations between army chiefs and the presidential guard have
broken down, a senior military officer said.
Troops are moving through the capital, as a 10:00 GMT deadline
to Gen Gilbert Diendere to surrender passed.
He staged a coup last week after opposing moves to integrate the
presidential guard into the army.
He has released the president and the prime minister, following
talks brokered by mediators.
Leaders of the sub regional body, Economic Community of West
African States, (ECOWAS), today converge on Abuja to decide the next move in
Burkina Faso with the ongoing face-off between the country’s Armed Forces and
members of the Presidential Guard which seized powers from the transitional
body last week.
Meanwhile the general who seized power in a coup last week has
apologized to the nation Monday and said he would hand over control to a
civilian transitional government after the military warned that its forces
would converge on the capital and forcibly disarm the soldiers behind the power
grab.
Gen. Gilbert Diendere said his presidential guard unit “confirms
our commitment to giving power back to civilian authorities,” in a communique
issued to journalists. That was one of the key conditions of a draft agreement
that resulted from weekend negotiations with regional mediators, but it had
been unclear until his announcement whether the junta would abide by those
terms.
Diendere, who led the presidential guard under long time leader,
Blaise Compaore until he was forced from power in a popular uprising last year,
said the compromises were necessary to avoid further bloodshed. The risk of
clashes could lead to “chaos, civil war and massive human rights violations,”
he said.
Earlier Monday, the heads of the National Armed Forces warned
that troops would disarm the presidential guard. While they said soldiers aimed
to do so without spilling blood, the ultimatum raised the specter of clashes on
the streets of Ouagadougou.
“We demand that they put down their weapons and rejoin Camp
Sangoule Lamizana,” the statement said, promising that the returning soldiers
and their families would be protected.
People gathered at sunset cheering on the highway as they waited
for the anticipated entry of Burkina Faso’s regular army, who vowed to disarm
the presidential guard known as the RSP.
The soldiers who seized power last week are seen as loyal to
ex-President Blaise Compaore. Diendere, the general installed as president
Thursday, is a former top aide to the ousted leader.
Junta members said they were angered that members of Compaore’s
former ruling party couldn’t take part in elections that were set for October.
11. Compaore was president for 27 years, and his bid to further extend his rule
prompted massive street protests that led to his ouster.
The mediators led by the presidents of Senegal and Benin
announced a plan late Sunday that calls for new elections by the end of
November. The plan drafted by mediators is supposed to go before the West
African regional bloc known as ECOWAS in Nigeria on Tuesday.
The streets of Ouagadougou remained tense Monday, and many
demonstrators said they felt the ECOWAS compromise plan was too lenient on the
junta.
France, meanwhile, suspended all military, civilian and
financial cooperation with Burkina Faso until civilian authority is restored.
French President Francois Hollande announced the suspension in a
statement. He also threatened sanctions against anyone who opposes democratic
elections, saying he would lobby European partners to do the same.
Hollande spoke Monday with Senegalese President Macky Sall about
West African regional efforts to restore calm in Burkina Faso, a former French
colony that maintains commercial and military ties with France.
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