Burkina Faso’s military junta announced Monday it had thwarted a “major plot in the making” intended to “sow total chaos” in the country.
Security Minister Mahamadou Sana stated on national television that intelligence services uncovered the plan, which allegedly aimed for an assault on the presidency on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, by recruited soldiers.
The junta claims the masterminds are located in neighboring Ivory Coast, specifically naming two former army officers, Major Joanny Compaore and Lieutenant Abdramane Barry.
This accusation follows the arrest last week of a dozen military personnel, including two officers, accused by junta supporters of plotting to “destabilise” the government.
Burkina Faso has been under military rule since a September 2022 coup led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, who has frequently accused Ivory Coast of harboring his opponents.
While Traore vowed to restore security, his government has been criticized for suppressing dissent amid rising kidnappings and arrests of those perceived as hostile. Burkina Faso has also been battling violence linked to IS and Al-Qaeda since 2015.
Traore previously claimed last year that Ivory Coast was a “centre of operations” for destabilizing Burkina Faso.