Burkina Faso Claims Foiled Coup Plot Orchestrated from Ivory Coast

Burkina Faso’s military government announced on Monday that it had thwarted a coup attempt aimed at plunging the West African nation into chaos, alleging that the plot was masterminded from neighboring Ivory Coast.

Security Minister Mahamadou Sana, in a televised statement, said intelligence services had uncovered "a major plot being prepared against our country, the ultimate aim of which is to sow total chaos." He claimed the orchestrators were based in Ivory Coast, specifically naming two former Burkinabé military officers—Major Joanny Compaoré and Lieutenant Abdramane Barry—as key figures in the alleged scheme.

Crackdown on Alleged Plotters

Authorities arrested a dozen military personnel last week, including two officers, on suspicion of planning to "destabilize" the government, security sources told AFP. The junta has repeatedly accused dissidents of conspiring against the regime, with multiple officers detained over the past year for allegedly undermining state institutions.

Interim President Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a 2022 coup, has long accused Ivory Coast of sheltering his opponents. Last July, he alleged that Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s economic hub, served as a "center of operations to destabilize" Burkina Faso.

The latest alleged plot, according to Traoré, was intended to culminate in an attack on the presidential palace on April 16. However, officials provided no independent evidence to substantiate the claims.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has struggled with rampant jihadist violence linked to groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda, resulting in thousands of deaths and over two million displaced people. Traoré’s government has vowed to restore security but has faced criticism for silencing dissent and conducting extrajudicial arrests of perceived opponents.

Ivory Coast has yet to respond to the latest allegations.