by Simon Gongo and Olivier Monnier
(Bloomberg) — Burkina Faso’s junta leader Gilbert Diendere pledged to hand back power and prevent Africa’s fourth-biggest gold producer from sliding into civil war, as the military warned it will forcibly disarm the elite guards who carried out the coup last week.
Pressure for the junta leaders to step aside increased earlier on Monday as the military said its forces were converging on Ouagadougou, the capital, to disarm them, “without bloodshed.” Groups of people were seen leaving the city and shops were closed.
Read also: Burkina Faso’s Military Coup a warning African democracy may be unravelling
On Sunday, mediators from the regional Ecowas bloc put forward a proposal to end the crisis peacefully, which entails returning interim-President Michel Kafando’s to power, holding elections on Nov. 22 and granting amnesty to the coup leaders.
Diendere said he was ready to accept the proposal to restore civilian rule in order to lessen the “risk of clashes that could lead to chaos, civil war and the mass violation of human rights,” according to an e-mailed statement. He apologized and promised to release transitional Prime Minister Isaac Zida, who was arrested during the takeover.
The coup was carried out by soldiers belonging to former President Blaise Compaore’s elite presidential guard, known by its acronym RSP. It seized power on Sept. 16, a month before an election was meant to replace a temporary government and transition the country into democracy.
