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Burkina Faso’s military regime announced that it had thwarted a “major plot” aimed at toppling junta leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré, with the military claiming the conspirators were located in neighbouring Ivory Coast.
Mahamadou Sana, the Security Minister, said that the coup attempt involved both active and former military personnel collaborating with “terrorist leaders.” He added that the plan was to assault the presidential palace the previous week.
The objective of this scheme was to “create total chaos and place the nation under the oversight of an international body,” Sana said during a state television broadcast on Monday.
This represents the latest in a series of assertions regarding efforts to oust the junta leader who took control in 2022 in response to rising militant violence.
Burkina Faso, akin to its Sahel neighbours, is engaged in combat against insurgents, who reportedly control around 40% of the nation.
Despite commitments from Capt Traoré’s military administration to enhance security and explore new defence partnerships with Russia, the situation remains critical, marked by regular assaults from insurgents.
In the most recent coup attempt, which took place last week but was only recently divulged, Sana indicated that the conspirators sought to enlist Burkinabe religious and traditional leaders to influence military officers into endorsing the scheme.
According to security sources relayed to the AFP news agency, several military members, including two officers, were apprehended for plotting to “undermine” the government.
The Ivorian government has not yet responded to allegations that plotters were operating from its territory, but the Burkinabe junta has previously accused its southern neighbour of aiding its exiled adversaries.
