Blaise Compaore

The announcement came after the military warned that its forces would converge on the capital and forcibly disarm the soldiers behind the power grab.

Gen. Gilbert Diendere said his presidential guard unit "confirms our commitment to giving power back to civilian authorities." That was one of the key conditions of a draft agreement that resulted from weekend negotiations with regional mediators, but it had been unclear until his announcement whether the junta would abide by those terms.

A former aide to ex-President Blaise Compaore, who was ousted in a popular uprising last year, was named the new head of state. Demonstrators who opposed Compaore's bid to prolong his 27-year rule forced him from office.

At least one person was killed when the presidential guard opened fire with live ammunition to disperse crowds protesting the coup, witnesses said. Several others were treated for gunshot wounds, according to a worker at the main hospital in the capital, Ouagadougou.