Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ouagadougou (Agenzia Fides) - Burkina Faso coup leaders have agreed to return to their barracks and said they would restore the deposed president, Michel Kafando, to power, signing a deal with the army that apparently defuses a tense standoff sparked by last week's coup. Under its terms, the Régiment Sécurité Présidentielle (RSP) agreed to step down from the positions they had taken up in Ouagadougou, while the army also agreed to withdraw its troops 50km from the capital and guarantee the safety of the RSP members as well as their families. These are the main points of the agreement reached to end the crisis in Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso plunged into crisis last Wednesday when the powerful RSP detained the interim leaders who had been running the country since a popular uprising deposed iron-fisted President Blaise Compaore last October.
Agreements were reached thanks to the mediation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Mogho Naaba, traditional leader of Mossis, the main ethnic group of the Country.
Meanwhile the Bishops of Burkina Faso in a statement sent to Agenzia Fides condemned the coup that "put a brutal end to the transition process and the expectations of an entire people." The Bishops complain about the "violence and their fatal consequences: loss of life, injuries and destruction of property" and offer "their sincere condolences to the families of victims".
The message also warns that if the coup had succeeded, the African Union would have imposed economic sanctions against Burkina Faso with disastrous consequences on a population who already live in precarious conditions. The Bishops conclude with an invitation to pray for peace in the Country, and launch an appeal to the parties involved to resolve the crisis through "true, clear, frank dialogue". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 23/09/2015)
