General Gilbert Diendere‘s (pictured below) deadline of surrendering by 10:00 GMT on Tuesday has passed, and now Burkina Faso‘s army is reportedly marching through the capital in order to position themselves for attack, reports BBC.
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Last week, Gen. Diendere staged a coup, deposing Interim President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida just weeks before the two were about to transfer power in the October 11th elections.
The coup caused both a national and international outcry, with Burkinabes actively protesting in the streets.
And while both Kafando and Zida have since been released from detainment, the fact that Gen. Diendere is refusing to step down has caused the nation’s army to throw their weight behind the interim government.
On the other hand, the well-trained presidential guard (pictured), who is loyal to former President Blaise Compaore as well as his replacement Gen. Diendere reportedly refused to agree to army chiefs’ terms.
Gen. Diendere says that he will not step down until the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is able to ensure that he and his peers involved in the coup receive amnesty. He is also demanding that the politicians who were involved in Compaore’s administration be allowed to run in the upcoming election, which has been rescheduled to November.
“Ready to surrender? We are not there yet…. We wish to continue the discussions and we say to all that we are ready to implement ECOWAS’ decisions,” said Gen. Diendere from an undisclosed location.
He also apologized to Burkinabes, insisting an apology is “the least we could do.”
ECOWAS Chairman and Senegalese President Macky Sall along with Facilitator and Beninese President Boni Yayi will meet with other ECOWAS members in Nigeria on Tuesday.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will host the meeting in Abuja.
Since the coup, at least 10 people have lost their lives, and more than 100 have been wounded in street protests.
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