Burkina Faso Claims to Have Foiled a Major Coup Plot Orchestrated from Côte d’Ivoire

Edition: Widad WAHBI

Burkina Faso’s military government announced on Monday evening that it had thwarted a “major plot” aimed at plunging the country into total chaos, claiming that the masterminds of the conspiracy were based in Côte d’Ivoire, a country frequently accused by Burkina’s junta of sheltering dissidents.

In a televised statement, Security Minister Mahamadou Sana declared, “The meticulous work of the intelligence service has uncovered a major plot being prepared against our country, with the ultimate goal of sowing complete chaos.”

He detailed that the plot, organized by so-called “terrorist conspirators,” was intended to culminate in an assault on the presidency on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. According to the minister, a group of soldiers recruited by “the enemies of the nation” were to carry out the attack.

“The masterminds outside the country are all located in Côte d’Ivoire,” he added, specifically naming Commander Joanny Compaoré and Lieutenant Abdramane Barry, both of whom are deserters.

Since Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power in a coup in September 2022, there has been a marked increase in abductions and extrajudicial arrests, particularly of civilians perceived as opponents of the military regime, as well as of soldiers accused of plotting.

According to Minister Sana, about ten other officers and non-commissioned officers, including Commander Frederic Ouedraogo, have been arrested. On Wednesday, Captain Elysée Tassembedo, commander of the 12th Commando Infantry Regiment and head of the Northern Security Forces Group based in Ouahigouya, was also detained in Ouagadougou.

“He was taken to an unknown location while he was due to attend a meeting at the general staff,” a security source revealed.

For over a year, the junta has detained dozens of military officers, including former gendarmerie chief of staff Evrard Somda, accusing them of “plotting” or “attempting to destabilize republican institutions.”

Côte d’Ivoire is regularly accused by Burkina Faso’s military authorities of harboring individuals engaged in subversive activities against the country. In July 2024, Captain Traoré had alleged that “an operations center to destabilize” Burkina Faso was operating out of Abidjan.