Security forces in Burkina Faso have detained its former speaker Alassane Bala Sakandé, days after he demanded that ousted President Roch Kaboré be released immediately.
Police arrested Sakandé, who is also the leader of the previous ruling party, at his residence early Sunday morning.
Sakandé claimed that the former president was being held in custody rather than under house arrest because of the alleged harsh conditions he had been subjected to.
In January, the former president was overthrown and has been under house arrest since.
Kabore’s release has already been demanded by the United Nations, African Union, and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Two weeks ago, West African envoys visited Kabore and reported that he was doing well.
The 64-year-old was elected in 2015 after a popular uprising threw away long-time dictator Blaise Compaore, who had seized control in a putsch in 1987.
Kabore was re-elected in 2020, although he received widespread criticism over the poor West African country’s Islamist struggle.
Last week Tuesday, a transitional assembly led by junta leader Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba resumed office in Ouagadougou.
Meanwhile, the party of ousted Burkina Faso president Roch Marc Christian Kabore on Thursday demanded his release, saying his house arrest is more like a detention.