"I neither ordered, nor planned, nor organised, nor executed what some people are calling a coup d'etat on September 16, 2015," Gilbert Diendere told a military court in the capital Ouagadougou.

Diendere was formerly head of the elite regiment guarding former president Blaise Compaore.

The general has been on trial since February over an attempted coup against the transition leadership that took over after Compaore was driven from power.

The violence left 14 people dead and 270 injured.

Diendere is charged with treason, murder and threatening state security.

He appeared in court in a red beret and military fatigues to make his first statements in the trial.

"I just faced up to a given situation on the advice of mediators and by agreement with the military hierarchy," he said.