Burkina Faso¡¯s self-declared military leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore said on Sunday that the situation was under control, urging people to refrain from acts of vandalism targeting the French Embassy, a statement read on national television said.

The West African nation remained on edge after Traore accused President Paul-Henri Damiba on Saturday of staging a counter-offensive after his apparent ouster a day earlier.

The standoff led to sporadic gunfire across the capital throughout Saturday between opposing factions of the army.

¡°We want to inform the population that the situation is under control and order is being restored,¡± an army officer said in a statement broadcast on national television. The officer was flanked by Traore and other armed and masked soldiers.