The evening was relatively calm. No further gunshots were reported in Ouaga, the national army, loyal to the civilian-led transition government, has surrounded Ouagadougou and given an ultimatum to the Presidential Guard (RSP) to lay down their arms by 10am. It is now 9:23.
The army chief is reportedly in talks with coup leaders to negotiate RSP’s surrender. Some RSP soldiers have laid down their weapons and returned to the Lamizana military camp in Ouagadougou. The majority have not. Gilbert Diendere said in a televised statement last night that he wanted to avoid further bloodshed, however it will take leadership at this point to make that happen.
Prime Minister Isaac Zida’s release was confirmed as of 6am this morning. It is unclear whether he or deposed and yet-to-be-reinstated Interim President Michel Kafando will take part in the special meeting held today by the AU and ECOWAS which is expected to provide some clarity and direction on the RSP’s surrender and handover of the government to civilian rule.
In Diendere’s address last night he reiterated that he would hand over power under the terms of the draft proposal that came out of Sunday’s troubled mediation talks. The terms include pardon and amnesty of the perpetrators of the coup. This spurred a national outcry and prompted the loyalist army to converge its entire military on Ouagadougou last night with the sole aim of having RSP lay down its arms without bloodshed. Michel Kafando expressed concerns about the draft proposal and said he was not involved in mediation talks (he was being held hostage at the time). Other heads of state of ECOWAS nations also expressed concerns about the proposal, which seems dead on arrival at today’s extraordinary meeting.
BBC reports that General Diendere, speaking from a secret location, said they were not yet ready to surrender and that they wish to continue negotiations. He added that they are ready to implement ECOWAS’ decisions and that an apology to the nation was “the least we could do.”