STUTTGART, Germany — The U.S.-trained army officer who seized control in Burkina Faso during the weekend, raising concerns that the takeover could potentially damage U.S. military ties with the country, now says he will quickly move to cede power to a transitional government.

After several days of anti-government protests in Burkina Faso, an impoverished west African country that also hosts a strategic U.S. military surveillance base, longtime President Blaise Compaore on Saturday fled the country.

In his wake, army Lt. Col. Isaac Zida stepped in to fill the void, sparking immediate protests against what demonstrators described as a coup and prompting several organizations, including the African Union, to demand that Zida cede power to a civilian transitional authority.

A military coup also could put pressure on the U.S. government to freeze some aid and military support to the country.

For years, the U.S. military has maintained close ties with Burkina Faso, conducting numerous counterterrorism exercises in a region where there are longstanding concerns over militant groups such as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The U.S. military also has operated drones and other aerial surveillance from a number of countries in Africa, including manned observation flights launched from Burkina Faso.

Zida has received some limited training under the auspices of the United States.

In 2012, Zida attended a 12-day counterterrorism training course at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida that was sponsored by the Defense Department’s Joint Special Operations University, according to U.S. Africa Command.

In addition, Zida attended a five-day military intelligence course in Botswana that was paid for by the U.S. government, AFRICOM said.

U.S. officials on Monday stopped short of calling Zida’s actions a coup, which could trigger sanctions and complicate the military’s relationship with the country.

“We’re still gathering the facts in this case,” said Jen Psaki, a State Department spokeswoman. “Obviously, our hope is that they will transition quickly to a civilian-led transitional government. And that’s what we’re pressing on.”

The AU issued a warning Monday, threatening sanctions if power wasn’t transferred to civilian authorities within two weeks. Later that day in the country’s capital of Ouagadougou, Zida told assembled reporters that he intended to move quickly.

“We are going to move very fast, but be careful not to commit a mistake that might damage our country,” said Zida, as quoted by local media. “We are not here to usurp power and to sit in place and run the country, but to help the country come out of this situation.”

In 2012, a Malian army captain with U.S. military training led a coup that resulted in the overthrow of a democratically elected government and resulted in the U.S. cutting off some security assistance to the country.

In Burkina Faso, however, the circumstances are different. Unlike Burkina Faso, where it was large street protests that forced an unpopular president from office, the overthrow of the government in Mali was instigated by elements in the country’s military.

vandiver.john@stripes.com