Burkina Faso’s military government says it has thwarted a “major plot” to overthrow the junta and destabilize the country, accusing former military officers based in neighboring Ivory Coast of masterminding the plan.
In a national broadcast on Monday, Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said the alleged plot involved both active and retired soldiers working alongside terrorist elements, with the aim of launching an armed assault on the presidency in Ouagadougou.
“The meticulous work of the intelligence service revealed a major plot being prepared against our country, the ultimate aim of which is to sow total chaos,” Sana stated.
“The manoeuvre was to culminate in an assault on the presidency of Faso by a group of soldiers recruited by the nation’s enemies.”
According to the minister, the attack was set for Wednesday, April 16, 2025. He accused the planners of attempting to manipulate public opinion by using religious and traditional leaders to persuade soldiers to back the coup.
He added that strategic information had been passed to terrorist groups to spark unrest and fuel rebellion within the ranks.
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Sana directly named two former army officers; Major Joanny Compaore and Lieutenant Abdramane Barry as key figures behind the operation.
“The brains outside the country are all located in Ivory Coast,” he said, renewing longstanding tensions between Ouagadougou and Abidjan.
The Ivorian government has yet to respond to the allegations.
Security sources confirmed to AFP that a dozen military personnel, including two officers, were arrested last week on suspicion of plotting to “destabilize” the junta.
This is not the first time Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s administration has reported an attempted coup. Traoré took power in September 2022, promising to restore order and security in the face of worsening jihadist violence.
However, nearly 40% of the country remains outside government control, and kidnappings and extrajudicial arrests have reportedly increased, especially against critics of the regime.
Last year, Traoré accused Ivory Coast of serving as a “center of operations” for efforts to destabilize Burkina Faso, a claim that further deepened diplomatic strains in the region.
Burkina Faso, alongside Mali and Niger, has since withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and formed a new alliance with fellow military-led governments. The trio says the regional bloc no longer serves their security and political interests.
Despite pivoting from Western allies like France toward Russia in pursuit of more effective counterterrorism assistance, deadly attacks by jihadist groups continue to plague the Sahelian nation.
