United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has welcomed the suspension of Burkina Faso from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) over this week’s military coup.

Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson to Mr Guterres, said this while briefing correspondents on Friday at UN headquarters on the situation in the country.

Haq said Mr Guterres also welcomed the decision of ECOWAS to deploy a mission of the regional Chiefs of Defence staff to the country on Saturday, to then be followed by a ministerial delegation next week.

According to Mr Haq, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, will travel to Burkina Faso over the weekend on a good offices mission.

“Annadif will also join the Ministerial mission along with the President of the ECOWAS Commission and the Foreign Minister of Ghana.

“This will take place ahead of a planned ECOWAS Summit in Accra on Feb. 3 to further discuss the situation in the country.

“The secretary-general continues to call for calm, the release of President Roch Marc Kaboré and other officials that have been detained as well as for a return to constitutional order in Burkina Faso,” said the spokesperson.

He added that Mr Annadif took part in the special virtual summit on Burkina Faso, organised by ECOWAS, on Friday.

In a Tweet, Mr Annadif said in his remarks at the summit, that he had reiterated the UN’s condemnation of unconstitutional changes of power and called for a swift and unconditional return to constitutional order in Burkina Faso.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso’s new military leader, Paul-Henri Damiba, said the West African country would return to democratic rule when the conditions were right.

Mr Damiba spoke for the first time on national television since leading a mutiny that ousted President Kabore on Monday.

“When the conditions are right, according to the deadline that our people will define in all sovereignty, I commit to a return to a normal constitutional order,” Mr Damiba said.

The junta said on Monday after seizing power that it would propose a calendar for a return to constitutional order “within a reasonable time frame” but has not elaborated on its plans.

The officers, who call themselves the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), launched a mutiny on Sunday night, and removed Mr Kabore on Monday, blaming him for failing to contain worsening violence by Islamist militants.

(NAN)