Some demonstrators had also headed to the national television station headquarters where two opposition leaders made separate attempts to go on air to declare themselves interim chief.
Former defence minister Kouame Lougue — whose name was chanted by thousands in the streets following Compaore’s downfall — told AFP: “The people have nominated me. I came to answer their call.”
But the TV technicians walked out, also foiling a bid by Saran Sereme, a former member of the ruling party, to make her claim as leader of the transition.
Under the constitution, which has been suspended by the military, the job of interim head of state is supposed to go to the speaker of parliament.
One opposition leader, Ablasse Ouedrago, claimed to have held talks with Zida in which the army leader declared himself ready to “lift the suspension of the constitution”.
But there was no confirmation from the army, and no indication of the whereabouts of the speaker of parliament.
– Six dead –
Around 30 people were killed in the week of violent protests that forced Compaore out, opposition figures said. Hospital sources told AFP there had been at least six deaths, including two by gunshot wounds.
Burkina Faso is a former French colony that was known as Upper Volta before changing its name in 1984.
Compaore was only 36 when he seized power in a 1987 coup in which his former friend and one of Africa’s most loved leaders, Thomas Sankara, was ousted and assassinated.
Outraged by Compaore’s plans to prolong his rule, hundreds of thousands of protesters massed on the streets of Ouagadougou on Thursday, some going on a rampage and setting parliament and other public buildings ablaze.
Events in Ouagadougou are being keenly followed across sub-Saharan African, where several leaders are seeking to cling to power.
In deeply divided Mauritania, the opposition National Forum for Democracy and Unity called for President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to “learn the lessons of the very serious events taking place in Burkina Faso”.
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