Burkina Faso's junta leader, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, agreed to step down on Sunday, religious and community leaders have said, two days after army officers announced his ouster in a coup that sparked internal unrest and international condemnation.
Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba "offered his resignation in order to avoid confrontations with serious human and material consequences", the religious and community leaders said in a statement.
The move followed mediation between Damiba and the new self-proclaimed leader, Ibrahim Traoré, by religious and community leaders.
Regional diplomatic sources said Damiba -- who himself took power in a January putsch -- had fled to Togo's capital Lomé on Sunday following Burkina Faso's second coup this year.
Traoré claims to have the support of army chiefs for his plans to "reinvigorate" the anti-jihadist struggle.
In a statement Sunday, the West African regional bloc ECOWAS welcomed the fact that the various players in the Burkinabe drama had accepted "a peaceful settlement of their differences". An ECOWAS delegation is to visit Ouagadougou on Monday.
Damiba set "seven conditions" for stepping down, the religious and community leaders said.
These included security guarantees for himself and his allies in the military; Damiba also insisted that the pledge he had given to West Africa's regional bloc for a return to civilian rule within two years be respected.
Traoré, who is 34, appears to have accepted the conditions and called for calm.
Curfew, border closures lifted
The overnight curfew imposed on Friday has been lifted and the country's borders have reopened.
On Saturday, Damiba had said he had no intention of giving up power, urging the rebel officers to "come to their senses" against a backdrop of street protests.
However, a statement issued on Sunday by rebel soldiers said Ibrahim Traoré would remain in charge "until the swearing-in of the president of Burkina Faso designated by the nation's active forces", at an unspecified date.
The rebel officers had accused Damiba of having taken refuge at a military base run by former colonial power France to plot a "counter-offensive", charges he and France have denied.
Destabilising jihadist insurgency
Damiba came to power in the nation of 16 million people in a January coup, accusing elected president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of failing to defeat jihadist fighters.
The islamist insurgency continues, and more than 40 percent of Burkina Faso remains outside government control.
Thousands have died and about two million have been displaced by the fighting since 2015, when the insurgency spread to Burkina Faso from neighbouring Mali.
The rebel officers said it was Damiba's failure to quell the jihadist attacks that had prompted them to act.
Friday's events sparked a wave of international criticism, including from the United States, the African Union, the European Union and ECOWAS.
"Burkina Faso needs peace, stability and unity to fight terrorist groups and criminal networks operating in parts of the country," said a statement by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
