Two senior allies of Burkina Faso's former president Blaise Compaore were sentenced to 10 and 20 years in prison, respectively, for planning a 2015 coup attempt against a transitional government.

A military court handed General Gilbert Diendere a 20-year prison term on Monday on charges of murder and harming state security.

General Djibrill Bassole, accused of treason, was given a 10-year prison sentence.

"This is a victory for the Burkinabe people, a victory for democracy and the rule of law," said Prosper Farama, a lawyer for people injured in the coup attempt. "Only the people, by their legitimacy, confer power."

The coup was contained after 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.

Compaore fled to Côte d'Ivoire in 2014 after 27 years in office marked by assassinations and mounting public discord.

He was forced out by a revolt sparked by his attempts to extend his grip on power, and a transitional government took the helm.

(Source-Aljazeera)