Burkina Faso’s military government says it has thwarted a “major coup plot” targeting the military leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré, according to a report by the BBC on Tuesday.
Mahamadou Sana, the country’s Security Minister, said in a televised address on Monday that both active and retired soldiers, allegedly working in coordination with terrorist groups, had conspired to storm the presidential palace last week.
According to Sana, the goal of the plot was to destabilize the country and establish a regime controlled by an international organization.
The minister alleged that the group also attempted to manipulate public sentiment by using religious and traditional leaders to sway military officers into supporting the coup.
He said: “The plotters had set their sights on 16 April for a direct assault on the presidency. They had been recruiting soldiers and passing strategic information to terrorist elements to fuel unrest and incite rebellion.”
He claimed that the coup plot was orchestrated from Ivory Coast by two identified former army officers.
Ivorian authorities have yet to respond to the allegations.
The announcement comes after several military personnel, including two officers, were arrested last week on suspicion of plotting against the regime.
Traoré’s administration has previously reported foiled coup attempts.
Persecondnews had reported that Traoré seized power in 2022, amid growing frustration over rampant jihadist violence. Due to ongoing insurgency, the government has lost control over almost 40% of Burkina Faso.
Despite pivoting towards Russia and away from France for security cooperation, Burkina Faso still faces regular deadly attacks from jihadist groups.
Citing shared security issues and ideological alignment, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger recently exited ECOWAS to form a new coalition.
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