Burkina Faso’s toppled interim president returns to power
Burkina Faso's interim President Michel Kafando, who was ousted following a military coup in the West African country, says he has reassumed his responsibilities as president.
"The transition has been restored and this very minute I am resuming the exercise of power," Kafando said while delivering a statement to the press at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital, Ouagadougou, on Wednesday.
The announcement came as six heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were arriving in Ouagadougou to negotiate an end to the current crisis in the landlocked African country.
ECOWAS officials are expected to oversee the re-installation of Kafando, sort out an amnesty plan for the coup leaders and discuss the possible presence of supporters of the former president, Blaise Compaore, in the upcoming elections.
Kafando said the ECOWAS leaders would "take into account the will of the Burkinabe people" in their new mediation bid.
Late on Tuesday, Burkina Faso’s warring sides signed a deal to end hostilities. Under the terms of the agreement, the country’s presidential guard, loyal to Compaore, agreed to stand down from the positions it had taken up in Ouagadougou, while the army vowed to withdraw its troops and guarantee the safety of the guard members.
Chaos in landlocked African country
Burkina Faso plunged into chaos on September 16, when the presidential guard kidnapped Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida, and two ministers. It also declared a coup and installed General Gilbert Diendere, Compaore’s former chief-of-staff, as the country’s new leader.
The coup came just weeks before national elections due on October 11, with at least 10 people killed in the ensuing unrest.
The Burkinabe transitional government came to power after Compaore, then 27-year-long president of the country, was ousted in October last year in the aftermath of demonstrations following his attempt to change the constitution to seek a new term.
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