ADDIS ABABA: The African Union on Saturday hailed an accord reached by Guinea's political rivals to form an interim government and hold an election to resolve the country's year-long crisis.

AU commission chief Jean Ping lauded the "positive development in the situation in Guinea and the advances made to end the crisis," a statement said.

The pact signed Friday in Ouagadougou provides for a national transition council and a unity government before polls are held in six months.

The AU suspended Guinea from the 53-member bloc after the December 2008 coup that brought Captain Moussa Dadis Camara to power and imposed sanctions on the military rulers after the massacre of opposition supporters last year.

Junta leader Camara, recovering from injuries inflicted last month in an assassination attempt, will remain in exile in Burkina Faso under the pact.

Camara, interim junta chief General Sekouba Konate, and Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore who is mediating between the ruling junta and the opposition inked the accord.