ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Burkina Faso's longtime president Blaise Compaore, toppled by a popular uprising last month, has left his temporary refuge of Ivory Coast and headed into exile in Morocco, an Ivorian government spokesman said on Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Burkina Faso when Compaore, who originally seized power in a 1987 coup, tried to change the constitution through parliament to extend his 27-year grip on the West African state.
He fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast, where he was welcomed by President Alassane Ouattara, a close ally, and lodged in a state villa in the capital Yamoussoukro.
"Yes, he has decided to change locations. He has left for Morocco. He will always be welcome in Ivory Coast. Our doors are always open," Ivorian government spokesman Bruno Kone told Reuters, without giving further details.
Burkina Faso's military briefly took power after Compaore stepped down. A civilian interim president, Michel Kafando, was appointed this week to guide the country on the southern fringes of the Sahara desert to an election due next year.
(Reporting by Joe Bavier and Ange Aboa; Editing by David Lewis and Mark Heinrich)