A one-time powerful aide to deposed Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaore was appointed head of a new ruling authority set up on Thursday after the country's presidential guard declared a coup.

General Gilbert Diendere, Compaore's former chief-of-staff, will lead the National Council for Democracy, it said in a statement, a day after the west African nation's interim president and senior government members were arrested.

The statement announced a nationwide curfew from to 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) until 6:00 am, with land and air borders closed until further notice.