Burkina Faso: Interim leader refuses to hand over power
Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida, the military's appointed interim leader of Burkina Faso, has rejected a demand from the African Union (AU) to hand over power to a civilian government within the next two weeks, saying he is "not afraid of sanctions."
The move comes just a day after the military, political parties and civil society leaders in Burkina Faso reached an agreement on a political transition.
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| Mr. Isaac Zida, Army Lieutenant Colonel and Interim Leader of Burkina Faso. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
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President Compaore had been forced to resign after a week of mass protests against his plan to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term after 27 years in power. Violence had killed at least 30 people in just one week. By November 2, traffic had returned to the streets of Ouagadougou, and banks and the capital's largest market had reopened after six days of inactivity.
On November 6, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all parties in Burkina Faso to quickly decide on the head of the country's political transition process.
Through his spokesman, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the agreement that Burkina Faso reached during negotiations on November 5, according to which the political transition process will take place within a year, followed by democratic elections in November 2015. Mr. Ban Ki-moon encouraged the parties in this West African country to continue dialogue to agree on “an outstanding civilian figure” to lead the transition process.
Besides, the UN Secretary-General also appreciated the joint reconciliation efforts of the UN, AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), together with the leaders of Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal./.
According to VNA
