Burkina Faso’s ruling military has revealed it successfully thwarted a “major plot” aimed at toppling the country’s junta leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Authorities allege the plot was orchestrated by individuals operating from Ivory Coast.
The announcement was made on national television Monday by Security Minister Mahamadou Sana, who described the attempted coup as a coordinated effort involving current and former military personnel working alongside “terrorist leaders.”
According to Sana, the conspirators intended to launch an assault on the presidential palace last week, with the broader goal of throwing the nation into disarray. “The aim of the plan was to ‘sow total chaos, and place the country under the supervision of an international organisation’,” he said during the broadcast.
This revelation marks the latest in a string of alleged attempts to remove Capt Traoré from power since he seized control in 2022 amid mounting insecurity linked to jihadist violence.
Burkina Faso remains engulfed in conflict with armed extremist groups, with nearly 40% of its territory reportedly outside government control. Despite pledges by the military regime to improve national security—coupled with a pivot towards military cooperation with Russia—the insurgency has persisted with regular deadly attacks.
Details of this latest foiled coup, which allegedly occurred on April 16, were only made public this week. Sana said the perpetrators sought to involve traditional and religious leaders to convince parts of the military to support their cause.
“The manoeuvre was to culminate, according to the terrorist plotters’ plan, on Wednesday 16 April, 2025 in an assault on the presidency of (Burkina) Faso by a group of soldiers recruited by the nation’s enemies,” he explained.
He further alleged that the architects of the operation were based across the border: “The brains outside the country are all located in Ivory Coast,” he said, naming two former military officers believed to be behind the conspiracy.
The minister accused those involved of sharing confidential intelligence with terrorist groups to enable more attacks and trigger rebellion. “Sensitive information was passed on to ‘terrorists’ to increase attacks on the military and civilians and ‘incite a revolt against the authorities’,” he stated.
Sources told AFP that several soldiers, including two officers, were detained last week over accusations of plotting to “destabilise” the government. Ivorian officials have not yet responded to the accusations that plotters operated from within their territory.
The claim follows similar allegations made by the junta in November 2024, when it also reported preventing a destabilisation attempt.
Burkina Faso, along with fellow military-ruled countries Mali and Niger, recently withdrew from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, forming a new alliance and severing ties with France, opting instead for closer cooperation with Russia.
