Burkina Faso's army, politicians and civil society leaders agreed to
a one-year political transition with elections in November 2015
following highly charged crisis talks on Wednesday.
The talks,
mediated by three west African presidents and also attended by religious
and tribal chiefs, failed to name a new leader to head the transitional
government.
But a statement after the meeting said all parties had agreed that an "eminent civilian personality" should take the job.
Ghana's
President John Dramani Mahama, who mediated alongside his Nigerian
counterpart Goodluck Jonathan and Senegal's President Macky Sall, said
he was not concerned about the failure to agree on a unity leader at
this stage. "I
believe that... in days rather than weeks, we'll be able to achieve an
agreement and install a transitional government," he said.
"Our
intention was not to take names back to the Ecowas summit," he added,
referring to an emergency meeting of African leaders due to be held in
Accra on Thursday. "It's a decision for the people of Burkina Faso. They must be the ones to decide. Pain is still fresh in people's mind."
The
trio of presidents had travelled to Ouagadougou to press for the swift
return of civilian rule after the military appointed one of its own,
Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac Zida, to run the country following last week's
ouster of president Blaise Compaore.
In scenes compared to the
Arab Spring, Compaore was forced to flee the country after tens of
thousands took to the streets and set parliament ablaze in violent
protests against efforts to extend his 27-year rule.
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