UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Amid reports of the arrest of political figures in Burkina Faso, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he stands firmly with the transitional authorities and President Michel Kafando.
"The Secretary-General is outraged by reports of the detention of President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida of Burkina Faso, as well as a number of Ministers of State, by the Régiment de Sécurité Présidentielle today in Ouagadougou. The Secretary-General calls for their immediate release," the United Nations said in a Wednesday statement.
The UN Security Council also condemned the forceful detention and urged all actors in Burkina Faso to refrain from violence. The council members demanded that members of the transitional government "be released safely and immediately" on Wednesday.
According to the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for West Africa Mohamed Ibn Chambas is currently in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou and will be working with international partners to safeguard the power transition in the country.
The Transitional Charter was adopted in Burkina Faso in November 2014 after the toppling of Blaise Compaore who attempted to extend his 27-year rule. Compaore resigned amid protests and fled Burkina Faso in October 2014.
Burkina Faso’s transitional government has been charged to run the country until presidential elections scheduled for October 2015.
