Parliament chief rejects coup, says will lead transition

The head of Burkina Faso's transitional parliament on Thursday called on the armed forces to step in and halt a coup by "a small group" of military officials, and said he would assume leadership until the president was released.

"The transition was put in place by the will of the people, who fixed its duration and its mission...It is not a small group which is going to change that," Moumina Cheriff Sy told Reuters in an interview.