Burkina Faso Foils Coup Plot Against Junta Leader Traoré

Burkina Faso’s military government has announced the successful prevention of a major coup attempt aimed at overthrowing junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré. According to a BBC report cited by Punch, the country’s Security Minister, Mahamadou Sana, revealed that both active and retired military personnel were involved in the plot, allegedly in collaboration with terrorist groups.

In a televised address on Monday, Sana detailed that the plotters had planned to storm the presidential palace on April 16 and had been recruiting soldiers while leaking sensitive information to insurgents. The goal, according to him, was to destabilize the country and install a regime under the influence of a foreign organization.

The government claims the orchestrators of the coup were exiled officers operating from Ivory Coast, though authorities there have yet to respond.

This development comes shortly after the arrest of several military officers suspected of plotting against Traoré’s regime. Burkina Faso has experienced multiple coup attempts since Traoré came to power in 2022 amid widespread insecurity caused by jihadist insurgencies. Nearly 40% of the country remains outside government control.

In response to ongoing instability and perceived ineffectiveness of Western partners, Burkina Faso has increasingly aligned itself with Russia. Along with Mali and Niger, it also withdrew from ECOWAS earlier this year, forming a new alliance of military-led states in West Africa.