Under Pressure, Burkina Faso's Military Promises to Cede Power One day after street protests against the military ended in violence, Burkina Faso's interim leader, Lt. Col. Isaac Zida, insisted on Monday that the army planned to give way to a civilian-led transitional body soon. Continue reading the main story Video of protesters chanting for Lt. Col. Isaac Zida to give up power on Sunday in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Abou Diomède Sanfo, via YouTube Colonel Zida, a senior member of the presidential guard, emerged Saturday from a brief power struggle as the military's choice to lead the country until a successor to the ousted president, Blaise Compaoré, can be elected. Colonel Zida made his remarks after meeting political leaders and diplomats in the capital, Ouagadougou, Reuters reported. "We are not here to usurp power and to sit in place and run the country," he said, "but to help the country come out of this situation." The announcement came amid fears that the army would hijack the popular uprising against Mr. Compaoré, who seized power in a coup in 1987 and stepped down on Friday. The African Union has threatened to impose sanctions if the military does not relinquish power within two weeks. Life in the capital was said to have returned to normal on Monday after chaotic scenes the day before. A large protest in the central square against Colonel Zida on Sunday was followed by a burst of gunfire from soldiers at the state television headquarters, where supporters of opposition leaders had gathered. Video from the African news site Sahelien showed protesters chanting against military rule in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, on Sunday. Abou Diomède Sanfo, a web journalist for the state broadcaster, Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina, described the confrontation at the studio in a blog post and a video report. Continue reading the main story A video report on the chaotic scenes at the headquarters of Burkina Faso's state broadcaster on Sunday. Mr. Sanfo wrote that the shots were fired after two opposition leaders, retired Gen. Kouame Lougué and Saran Sérémé, both arrived at the television studio with the apparent intention of offering themselves to the nation as interim president. While Ms. Sérémé and others in the political opposition contended that popular pressure was necessary to keep the military from stealing the revolution, the leaders of the anticorruption movement Balai Citoyen, which played a central role in the demonstrations that forced Mr. Compaoré to step down, argued that Colonel Zida deserved time to make good on his promises. In an interview with BBC Afrique, one of the movement's founders, the rapper Smockey, said that it was important to restore order "after 27 years of dictatorship" before laying the groundwork for free and fair elections. His movement's spokesman was pictured negotiating with Colonel Zida on Friday, before the officer staked his claim to power. On its Twitter feed, the group endorsed a detailed road map for the political transition, calling for the drafting of a new constitution by an elected constituent assembly before elections within one year. Members of Balai Citoyen, including Smockey and his co-founder, the reggae singer Sams'K Le Jah, visited people wounded in the uprising at a hospital in the capital on Monday. In another part of the city, the Reuters photographer Joe Penney reported, enterprising merchants were selling copies of documents looted from the home of the deposed president's brother, said to detail corruption and human rights abuses.