President Michel Kafando to lead interim government after coup

September 20, 2015 7:08 AM

It was not clear if the alleged deal included amnesty for Diendere, a shadowy general who served as a spy chief under ousted President Blaise Compaore.

Senegalese President Macky Sall (L) and Beninois President Thomas Boni Yayi (R) pose for a picture with Burkinabe transitional President Michel Kafando (C) at the president's residence in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, September 19, 2015. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Burkina Faso will reinstate an interim government led by President Michel Kafando, Benin's leader Thomas Boni Yayi said on Saturday, in what would be a victory for the street over army coup leaders.

Seeking to end violent clashes between soldiers and protesters and salvage an October presidential election, African mediators held talks with junta head General Gilbert Diendere.

"We may hope again," Boni Yayi told reporters after a third round of talks with Diendere. "We are going to relaunch the transition that was underway - a transition led by civilians, with Michel Kafando," he added, saying that more details of the "good news" would be provided on Sunday.

Senegal's President Macky Sall, who is also mediating in the crisis as head of regional bloc ECOWAS, did not comment after the talks. His office earlier confirmed he was seeking to broker Kafando's return to power.

It was not clear if the alleged deal included amnesty for Diendere, a shadowy general who served as a spy chief under ousted President Blaise Compaore.

Nor was it clear if the election schedule could be restored.

Diendere did not deny that an initial agreement had been reached. "I always said that I will not cling to power. It's now a question of terms," he told reporters after the meeting.

Soldiers from the presidential guard stormed into a cabinet meeting on Wednesday and abducted President Kafando and ministers, disrupting a transition period due to end with elections on October 11.

Calling themselves the National Democratic Council, the coup leaders oppose the interim government's plans to dissolve the presidential guard and claim the country faced instability after some candidates were barred from standing in the elections.

"We simply want a set of proposals that allow us to get to the elections in all peace and serenity while assuring that the results are uncontested and incontestable," Diedere told TV 5 MONDE earlier in the day.

Kafando has since been freed and is in his residence, where he met with mediators earlier in the day. He has not spoken publicly since the coup was announced on Thursday.