OUAGADOUGOU: The head of the African Union held urgent talks in Burkina Faso on Monday on the west African country's transition to civilian rule following the ouster of veteran president Blaise Compaore, warning time was running short.
With the military regime that took power after Compaore's exit under heavy international pressure to quickly hand over to a civilian government, delicate negotiations loomed to hammer out a transition plan.
Compaore fled the country last month after measures to change the constitution to extend his 27-year rule sparked mass demonstrations and unrest, with parliament set ablaze.
The army took control, installing Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac Zida, the 49-year-old second in command of the presidential guard, as the country's new leader on November 1.
The United States has called for a democratic transition while France and the European Union have pressed for free elections to be held quickly.
The current AU head, Mauritania's president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who arrived in the country Monday, said "we have come to participate in a solution", but warned that quick action was needed.
"The AU did not come to impose anything on you or to threaten you with anything," said Abdel Aziz, who left the country Monday evening.
"But your main threat is that time is working against you and it is working against our entire organisation."
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