The event, staged by Burkina's new strongman Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, aimed to "accelerate national reconciliation" and find a solution to curb the jihadist violence that has plagued Burkina since 2015.

Among the invited former leaders was Blaise Compaore, 71, who returned to Ouagadougou on Thursday from Ivory Coast, where he had spent eight years in exile after a popular uprising in October 2014.

His return has drawn widespread criticism, particularly over his April 6 conviction in absentia for the role he played in the assassination of his predecessor Thomas Sankara during a coup that brought Compaore to power in 1987.

Members of Kabore's party, the People's Movement for Progress (MPP), were among the demonstrators Friday morning outside his home to prevent him from attending the summit of former heads of state scheduled for midday.

"Should we sacrifice justice, the foundation of the republican pact, on the altar of a certain national reconciliation?" the MPP asked.

Boukari Conombo, president of the Black Armband, a civil society movement, dismissed the new president's attempt for a reconciliation as "a farce".

"It's not the role of Damiba who made a coup to reconcile people," he told AFP.

The Patriotic Front, which includes some 20 organisations and political parties, said Compaore "should be immediately arrested and taken to prison", as an international arrest warrant has been issued against him.

"This reconciliation must not and cannot be achieved by establishing impunity or by making arrangements between politicians," several trade unions, also present, said.

Few details were released about Friday's summit with the presidency saying just that "two declarations" are planned for the end of the meeting.