Burkina Faso has issued an international warrant for ousted leader Blaise Compaore for his suspected role in the 1987 killing of his former comrade, ex-president Thomas Sankara, a judicial source said Monday.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Compaore, who is living in exile in the Ivory Coast, had been charged with an “attack” and “assassination”.

Compaore was toppled from power by a popular uprising in October 2014 after ruling Burkina Faso with an iron fist for 27 years.

Sankara, a revolutionary figure who is still a hero to many in West Africa, was killed on October 15, 1987 during the coup that brought his friend and former comrade-in-arms Compaore to power.

A police lab helping investigate the killing of the iconic former president on Monday said it had not managed to detect any of his DNA in the remains presumed to be his, according to a family lawyer.

Remains believed to be those of Sankara and 12 former aides also killed during the coup were exhumed from a cemetery in the capital Ouagadougou in May.

At least five other people, mostly former soldiers, have been charged in connection with Sankara’s killing – including General Gilbert Diendere, Compaore’s former chief of staff, who led a failed coup in September. (AFP)

•Photo shows Compaore.