Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore will Tuesday mediate talks in the capital Ouagadougou between Guinea's military junta and other political groups.
<!-- IMAGE -->Backed by the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS), the talks are aimed at finding solutions to the ongoing crisis in Guinea.
President Compaore recently visited Guinea shortly after being designated by ECOWAS to act as the facilitator for resolving the crisis.
ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Guinea after the military
shot dead more than 150 unarmed people who were protesting against the
candidacy of junta leader Captain Dadis Mousa Camara.
"The president (Campoare) is hosting the first meeting of the key political actors from Guinea to chart the way forward," said ECOWAS Political Director Abdel Fatau Musah.
He said the dialogue also aims to restore democracy in Guinea.
"There were broad frameworks that were cast into the agreement and one was to set up a transitional authority that would midwife the birth of the constitutional order. That is, lead the country out of its military dictatorship that we have today onto general elections," he said.
<!-- IMAGE -->Musah said the sub-regional body has lost confidence in the military government.
"The people of Guinea and also the international community and for that matter ECOWAS and its partners have lost confidence in the legitimacy of the junta," Musah said.
He said ECOWAS is aware that the situation in Guinea could get worse.
"We are also conscious of the fact that …any further hour that the junta stays in power, the danger of the country slipping into civil war or outright brutality…becomes even more likely," he said.
Musah said the military government should step down.
<!-- IMAGE -->"We want to see the back of the junta as quickly as possible," Musah said.
He said ECOWAS plans to expedite the recommendation of Tuesday's dialogue.
"As soon as we agree on a formula for elections it is not going to take another two days or so… the only thing is to get that political will and the acceptance of the junta that they have outlived their legitimacy for the Guinean community," he said.
<!-- IMAGE -->Meanwhile, Washington has also imposed travel sanctions on some members of the military junta, barring entry into the United States.
