Deadly Protests as Elite Troops Linked to ex-Leader Declare Burkina Faso Coup

At least one person died and scores more were injured Thursday in protests in Burkina Faso after a coup led by a close ally of toppled strongman Blaise Compaore.

The latest unrest to hit the west African nation came just weeks ahead of presidential and legislative elections, slated for October 11, aimed at restoring democracy after Compaore was forced out late last year, ending 27 years of iron-fisted rule. 

Doctors at the main hospital in the capital Ouagadougou said a man had died of injuries sustained on Wednesday when he was shot in coup-linked violence, and that at least 60 others had been admitted for various injuries.

Protests erupted in several places in the former French colony. In the second city of Bobo-Dioulasso, shops were closed and soldiers remained in their barracks, residents said.

"There are crowds on the streets," a taxi driver said, adding that the home of a member of Compaore's party had been torched.

Angry residents erected barricades in other towns and cities after presidential guard members loyal to Compaore burst into a cabinet meeting on Wednesday and seized acting president Michel Kafando, prime minister Isaac Zida, and two ministers.

Zida was an officer in Compaore's powerful Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) before he toppled his old boss after days of street protests in October 2014.

Dissolving the country's political institutions, the guards immediately announced the establishment of a "National Democratic Council" which would end "the deviant regime of transition" and create a government which would organize "inclusive" elections.

General Gilbert Diendere, Compaore's former chief-of-staff, was appointed head of the council, which announced a night-time curfew with land and air borders closed until further notice.

Speaking to French television, Diendere said he had had no contact with Compaore and claimed he was backed by the country's powerful army.

And he told French weekly magazine Jeune Afrique that Kafando and Zida were in good health and would be released.

The coup leaders had been prompted to act by the "serious pre-election security situation" ahead of presidential and legislative elections, he said.

Wednesday's coup triggered immediate street protests outside the presidential palace where the leaders were being held.

Revolution Square -- the epicenter of protests against Compaore -- was empty apart from military patrols, with the streets of the capital deserted, although shots could still be heard from time to time.

Interim parliamentary speaker Cheriff Sy, who denounced the takeover in a interview with Radio France Internationale, urged people to "immediately rise up."

International condemnation was swift, with the United Nations Security Council and the European Union, one of the main donors to the poverty-stricken country, demanding the release of the country's transitional leaders.

- Global condemnation -

"This incident is a flagrant violation of Burkina Faso's constitution and transitional charter," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

President Francois Hollande of France -- the former colonial power -- joined the chorus of disapproval, calling for political order to be restored.

"I call on these groups to immediately stop what they are doing," Hollande said but added that the 220 French troops based in Ouagadougou "have no reason to intervene."

In a joint statement, the U.N., African Union and 15-nation Economic Community of West African States demanded "the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages."

Protesters marching on the presidential palace on Wednesday evening were met with bursts of gunfire, with shooting also heard around the complex on Thursday.

After news of the coup spread, several hundred demonstrators with whistles and vuvuzelas, shouting slogans against the RSP guards, gathered near the palace, with the headquarters of Compaore's Congress for Democracy and Progress party ransacked.

Compaore fled into exile in Ivory Coast after a popular uprising triggered by his attempt to extend his 27-year rule.

A transitional government had been charged with running the country until the elections but Compaore supporters were banned from standing under a controversial law passed in April that made anyone backing "unconstitutional change" ineligible.

- President kidnapped -

The country's main trade unions immediately called for a general strike "against the RSP interference in politics and for a true democracy."

The elite corps of 1,300 men, considered the best trained in the Burkinabe army, caused a brief political crisis in February when they demanded Zida's resignation after he had publicly called for the RSP to be disbanded.

They reiterated the demand again in June, creating further political tensions. 

Since Compaore's ouster, the RSP has repeatedly tried to disrupt the ongoing transition.

On Monday, the country's National Reconciliation and Reforms Commission had recommended that force be disbanded.

On the ground, the Balai Citoyen ("Civic Broom") movement, which was at the forefront of last year's anti-Compaore protests, called for demonstrations to "say no to the coup d'etat under way", an appeal that was shared widely on social networks.

State television broadcast cartoons and a football match as the dramatic events unfolded. Its buildings have traditionally been guarded by the RSP.