Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

A power struggle ensued and on Saturday Presidential Guard commander Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida was appointed as transitional leader, trumping a claim by the chief of staff.

In Ouagadougou's Place de La Nation, the site of this week's mass protests, opposition leaders denounced the army's power grab. One citizen carried a placard saying "Zida = Judas".

A U.N. official on Sunday joined the United States and the African Union in rejecting the army's seizure of power but expressed cautious optimism about a return to civilian rule.

"We are hoping for a transition led by civilians in line with the constitution," Mohammed Ibn Chambas, head of the United Nations Office for West Africa, said.

"He (Zida) said he will reflect and try to work with the U.N., African Union and the Economic Community of West African States and to find an acceptable agreement which conforms to the constitution," he said.

Under Burkina Faso's constitution, the head of the National Assembly should take office if the president resigns. At least three people were killed in this week's protests during which the parliament building was stormed and set on fire.