AU demands release of ousted Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore

The African Union has condemned the coup d'état in Burkina Faso and demanded an urgent release of detained President Roch Kabore.

AU chairman President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, said on Tuesday there should be no conditions attached to the release of President Kabore whom he argued had been illegally arrested.

President Tshisekedi called on the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the AU and the international community to work together for a peaceful solution to the political crisis in Burkina Faso.

Mr Kaboré, first elected in 2015, successfully defended his seat in 2020 on a promise to prioritise the fight against the jihadist insurgency. He has faced growing public anger at the failure to stop bloodshed.

On Sunday, he was arrested by the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration.

The Burkabe leader assumed the presidency after the ouster of Blaise Compaoré, now accused of being behind the assassination of the country’s transformative leader Thomas Sankara in October 1987.

The intensity and frequency of jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso have increased over the years, placing President Kabore’s leadership in sharp focus.

The junta said they will “put the country back on the right track" and "fight for territorial integrity.”

They shut all land borders and suspended the constitution, even though they promised to oversee a short-lived transition back to civilian rule.