TheCable

At least three people have been killed and 60 injured during street clashes in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso.

There have been fresh protests in the country since the presidential guard overthrew the interim government on Wednesday and a coup declared the following day.

Witnesses said the soldiers initially fired warning shots to disperse crowds gathering in the streets and the people responded by pelting them with stones.

Leaders within and outside Africa have condemned the coup, mounting pressure on the military to release former president, Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Yacouba Zida who were detained at the presidential palace on Wednesday.

Senegal’s President Macky Sall, who is also the chairman of the regional group ECOWAS, and Benin’s President Thomas Boni Yayi, are due to arrive Ouagadougou in few hours to mediate in the crisis.

Gilbert Diendere, a former chief-of-staff to Blaise Compaore, ousted military dictator, has been named the head of the new junta called the national council for democracy.

Diendere worked as a top military aide to Compaore for three decades. He served as a spy operator, played a central role in negotiating the release of Western hostages seized by Islamist groups in the arid Sahel.