A military court in Burkina Faso convicted two generals on charges of masterminding a coup in the country in 2015.
General Gilbert Diendere was handed a 20-year prison term on Monday on charges of murder and harming state security, AFP news agency reported.
General Djibrill Bassole, accused of treason, was given a 10-year prison sentence.
The coup – carried out by troops loyal to deposed President Blaise Compaore – fizzled out within a week after army-backed demonstrators attacked the rebels’ barracks. Fourteen people were killed and more than 300 wounded during the unrest.
Diendere and Bassole were the leading figures in a 19-month trial of 84 people accused of the attempted overthrow of Burkina’s transitional government.
The coup was mounted by an elite unit of the army, the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP), on September 16, 2015, less than a month before scheduled general elections.
