Gilbert Diendere, the Burkina Faso general who took power last month in a failed coup attempt has been charged with crimes against humanity on Friday, a military source told Associated Press.
The source also said that 23 people were arrested and charged alongside the former leader of the country’s elite Presidential Guard.
Diendere was earlier this month charged with 10 other counts including attacking national security and assassination, AP reported.
He is expected to be tried before a military tribunal, with prosecutor Col. Sita Sangere saying that the assassination count carried the penalty of a death sentence if found to be carried out with “cruelty”.
Among others charged with the general is his wife, Fatou Diendere, who was a parliamentary member when Blaise Campaore’s party held sway over the country.
The presidential guard staged a coup on September 16 in which Interim President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida were taken hostage and Diendere took power.
The coup plotters later backed down after about a week of street protests, amid pressure from ECOWAS and the country’s military.
Diendere is known to be an ally of ousted President Blaise Campaore, whose over 30-year rule was brought to an end by a popular uprising in October 2014.
Elections are expected in the country on November 29, 2015.
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