Burkina Faso Coup biggest mistake, says Gen. Diendere

Burkina Faso Coup biggest mistake, says Gen. Diendere

Wednesday, September 23, 2015 11:37 pm


General Gilbert Diendere: coup was biggest mistake

General Gilbert Diendere: coup was biggest mistake

General Gilbert Diendere, leader of the aborted coup in Burkina Faso, has described the putsch he led as “the biggest mistake”.

“Carrying out this coup was the biggest mistake,” he told reporters just hours after the interim president he deposed resumed office.

“We knew the people were not in favour of it. That is why we have given up.”

Diendere is head of the powerful Presidential Security Regiment (RSP), the unit behind the coup, and a former chief-of-staff to longtime leader Blaise Compaore, who was deposed by a popular uprising in October 2014.

The general was speaking after a formal ceremony in Ouagadougou to reinstate the interim authority headed by president Michel Kafando which had been deposed on September 17.

After a closed-door meeting with the presidents of Nigeria and Benin, Diendere then spent 20 minutes talking with the US ambassador.

“What has put me in a good mood is the fact that we avoided confrontation,” he told reporters with a smile, saying he took “full responsibility” for the coup and was “not afraid to face justice”.

The putsch was “a waste of time and resources … and human lives were lost – I also recognise that,” he said, wearing the olive green fatigues of RSP.

Asked about the possible dissolution of the unit, he said: “It’s not up to me to decide but assurances were given that the RSP would not be dissolved and that will be discussed soon when the mediators come back.”

Talks to end the crisis have been led by mediators from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

“The RSP is back in its barracks, it has pulled out of all the positions it occupied. The weapons have not yet been returned but that is something that will be done in the coming days,” he said.

 

*Reported by AFP

 


Join The Conversation

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.