TheCable

Burkina Faso will be sanctioned if its military does not relinquish power to civilian authorities within two weeks, the African Union (AU) said on Monday.

According to Simeon Oyono Esono, an AU official who was speaking after a meeting of the body’s Peace and Security Council in Ethiopia, the army’s takeover of power after Blaise Compaore’s forced resignation is unconstitutional, and Isaac Yacouba Zilda, the lieutenant-colonel who got hold of power, must now hand it over within 14 days.

“The African Union is convinced the change has been against democracy. However, popular pressure led to the resignation of the president,” Esono told Reuters via a translator in Addis Ababa.

“So we have taken note of the origin of the popular revolt, which led to the military getting power, so we determined the period of two weeks and after that period we are going apply sanctions.”

The BBC’s Emmanuel Igunza in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa said the sanctions could include suspension of Burkina Faso’s AU membership and a travel ban on military officials.

The Peace and Security Council of the AU will meet in two weeks to review the situation.