Senior Tuareg rebel leader briefly held for links to Burkina coup

Ouagadougou (AFP) - The vice-president of a Tuareg rebel movement was briefly arrested at Ouagadougou airport on Thursday over suspected links to last month's coup in Burkina Faso, a Burkinabe military source said.

Mahamadou Djeri Maiga, vice-president of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), "was arrested over allegations that he provided logistical support to the coup," the source said.

He was held Thursday afternoon at Ouagadougou airport as he tried to board a plane to leave the country, but was released after several hours.

Several members of the Tuareg rebellion live or frequently pass through Burkina Faso's capital.

Crack troops from the presidential guard loyal to ousted leader Blaise Compaore declared a coup on September 17, after detaining interim president Michel Kafando and prime minister Isaac Zida.

At least 11 people were killed and hundreds injured in protests triggered by the coup, which came just weeks before the first elections scheduled since Compaore was ousted last October after 27 years of iron-fisted rule.

Burkina's interim government on Monday pledged to crack down on those who led the short-lived putsch, and on Thursday leader General Gilbert Diendere handed himself in to police.

"Following the defeat of the coup... the competent authorities are arresting people suspected or implicated in the attempt to destabilise the institutions of the transition," the government said in a statement.

"Court proceedings have already been started."

Burkina Faso's government, established after Compaore was ousted from power last year, on Monday accused the coup leaders of "mobilising foreign forces and jihadi groups, which they called to their aid".

General Diendere, who has been involved in several negotiations for hostages held by Tuareg groups in the Sahel, has rejected the accusations, while another source close to the coup labelled them "incredible".