Mediators trying to end the crisis in Burkina Faso by coordinating post-coup talks said they negotiated a draft agreement on Sunday. Mediators from member countries of West African block ECOWAS said they proposed a return of the ousted transitional president in return for amnesty for those involved in the coup, according to AFP.
"The draft agreement foresees the restoration of the transitional institutions and of president Michel Kafando and for all those being held as a result of the coup to be freed," former prime minister Kadre Desire Ouedraogo said, according to France24.
Media reports said pro-coup soldiers stormed a hotel in capital Ouagadougou and attacked opposition members during post-coup talks. "They invaded the hotel. It was violent. They attacked ex-opposition members as they arrived. One had to be saved from the crowd by security forces," a witness told Reuters.
A military coup overthrew the interim government last week in Burkina Faso and placed interim President Michel Kafando, his prime minister and several ministers under detention, as HNGN previously reported. The coup came nearly a month before the scheduled Oct. 11 election in the country.
Mediators proposed fresh presidential and parliamentary elections for Nov. 22 and said the candidates loyal to ousted President Blaise Compare would be allowed to contest during November elections, according to VOA News. Compare was forced to resign last year after a popular uprising in the country.
"We have two ways out here: The first one is through peace ... that will lead to an end of the crisis through fair and democratic elections and the other route will lead to chaos," said Senegalese President Macky Sall, who mediated the weekend talks between coup leaders and political parties, according to Associated Press.
