'Martyrs' of Burkina Faso's Uprising Get Official Funeral

Tens of thousands of people turned out Tuesday in Burkina Faso's capital for the official funeral of "martyrs" of the bloody uprising that ousted president Blaise Compaore.

Six coffins draped in the red, green and yellow of the national flag were brought to Revolution Square in Ouagadougou for the ceremony attended by interim President Michel Kafando, his prime minister, Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac Zida, and parliament speaker Cheriff Sy.

The three men were empowered last month by politicians, leaders of civil society, the army and religious figures to head a year-long transition to elections in November 2015. Each of them bowed before the coffins while family members wept.

In all, at least 24 people were killed during demonstrations on October 30 and 31 against a bid by Compaore to extend his 27-year rule, according to an official inquiry.

A further 625 people were wounded in the popular revolt when police used tear gas and soldiers fired rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse protesters, who set parliament ablaze and stormed national broadcasting facilities.

The families of most of those who died have already buried their kin in Ouagadougou's Goughin military cemetery, not wishing to wait for a funeral.

The large crowd in Revolution Square -- given back the name it had under popular Marxist president Thomas Sankara (1983-87) -- held hands during five minutes of silence, like the west African nation's new leaders.

"They gave their lives for the nation. They died for justice and goodness. They are the beacon of our struggle. Your children have gone for the just cause, giving their lives to give Burkina Faso new life, so that a whole people can regain hope," the presiding army chaplain said.

Compaore -- who seized power in a 1987 coup that claimed the life of his former comrade-in-arms Sankara -- fled to neighboring Ivory Coast when confronted with mass opposition to his plans to amend the constitution to run for a fifth term in 2015. He has since moved to Morocco.