Civilian Rule restored in Burkina Faso after last week's military takeover

Civilian Rule restored in Burkina Faso after last week's military takeover

Burkina Faso's interim President Michel Kafando has said he is back in charge and civilian rule restored after last week's military takeover.

His announcement came as coup leader Gen Gilbert Diendere went to welcome several African leaders arriving to oversee the transfer of power.

His presidential guard agreed to a deal overnight with the regular army to avoid violence.

They pledged to return to barracks and the army to withdraw from the capital

The presidential guard (RSP) is loyal to Blaise Compaore, the country's long-time ruler who was ousted in a popular uprising last year.

The elite troops installed Gen Diendere as the leader last week - a month before elections had been due in the landlocked country.

The army on Monday ordered the coup leaders to step down or be ousted by force, raising the spectre of a civil war.

The agreement between the RSP and army was signed in front of the country's most influential leader, Mogho Naba.

Note

Elections were supposed to be held on October 11,2015

Soldiers from the elite presidential guard (RSP) stormed into a cabinet meeting and abducted President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida

Diendere, a former spy chief and close ally of Blaise Compaore, the former long-term president, was named head of the military government the next day

The coup derailed a yearlong transition process that followed the fall of Compaore during a popular uprising in Oct 2014

The coup was swiftly condemned by former colonial power France, the United States, the United Nations and the African Union(AU)

The AU gave coup leaders 96 hours, or until September 22, to restore the transitional government or face travel bans and asset freezes.

The military released a statement on Friday Sep 18,2015 saying that it had released Kafando from military custody but the interim prime minister remained under house arrest. His fate since is not known.

Hundreds of protesters burned tyres and erected barricades in the streets of Ouagadougou on Saturday Sep 19,2015 in a third day of unrest to demand a return to civilian rule