The visit by Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, was announced on Friday, just hours after regional bloc ECOWAS suspended the country from its membership.

UN chief António Guterres continues to follow developments in Burkina Faso, his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, told journalists in New York.

Appeal for calm

“The Secretary-General continues to call for calm, the release of President Kaboré and other officials that have been detained as well as for a return to constitutional order in Burkina Faso,” he said.

The Secretary-General has taken note of the ECOWAS decision, and its plans to deploy a mission of regional chiefs of staff to Burkina Faso on Saturday, followed by a Ministerial delegation next week.

Mr. Annadif will also join the Ministerial mission along with the President of the ECOWAS Commission and the Foreign Minister of Ghana. 

An ECOWAS summit is scheduled in Ghana’s capital, Accra, on 3 February, to further discuss the situation in Burkina Faso.

On Friday, Mr. Annadif, took part in the special virtual summit on the crisis, organized by the 15-member bloc.

He reiterated UN condemnation of unconstitutional changes of power and called for a swift and unconditional return to constitutional order, according to a tweet from his office.