At least 10 people have been reportedly killed in a deadly protest that greeted the ousting of the Burkina Faso President, Blaise Compaore.
A civil society group stated those killed were shot dead by the presidential guard forces in Ouagadougou, the country's capital.
Compaore was overthrown by presidential guard officers on Wednesday during the Ministerial Council meeting at the Presidential Palace in Kossyam.
A close ally of Compaore, Gen. Gilbert Diendere, was immediately named as the country’s new leader.
AFP reports that the coup leaders imposed a night-time curfew across the West African state, and ordered the closure of land and air borders.
The headquarters of Compaore’s Congress for Democracy and Progress party were ransacked in Ouagadougou as news of the coup spread, it adds.
Burkina Faso's military took to the airwaves on Thursday to declare it now controls the West African country, confirming that a coup had taken place just weeks before elections, Reuters reported.
It stated the transitional government based in Ouagadougou had been dissolved, and the country’s interim president was no longer in power.
The coup leaders, who come from an elite presidential guard unit that had disagreed publicly with the transitional government in recent months, identified themselves as the National Council for Democracy.
Their public statement confirmed what many suspected on Wednesday when the transitional president and the prime minister were arrested and barricades were erected around the Presidency.
The communique read by Lt. Col. Mamadou Bamba criticised the electoral code, which blocked members of the ex-president’s party from taking part in the October 11 election.
Anyone who supported the ex-president’s bid to amend the constitution so he could seek another term was also banned from running.
Dailymail reported that Bamba announced the beginning of a “coherent, fair and equitable process” that would lead to inclusive elections. The power grab violated the country’s constitution.
Meanwhile, the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States, have condemned the coup and the abduction of the transitional President, Michel Kafando; the Prime Minister, Yacouba Zida, and the transitional ministers.
They criticised the action of the guards and called for the immediate release of the officials.
The organizations, in a joint statement on Thursday, strongly condemned what they called “gross violation of the Constitution and the Charter of the Transition.”
They demanded that the defence and security forces submit to the political authorities and in this case, the transition government.
“ECOWAS, African Union and United nations call for the immediate release of the hostages. They emphatically state that the abductors will answer for their actions and will be held responsible for any physical harm to the President, the Prime Minister and other persons being held hostage,” the statement added.
They reaffirmed their full support for the transition “at this critical time, for the conclusion of its mission with the conduct of elections scheduled to hold on October 11, 2015.”
They reiterated their determination, in support of the national authorities, to spare no effort in ensuring the successful completion of the transition process in Burkina Faso.