Burkina Faso’s military government announced that it has foiled a major plot to overthrow the country’s leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré, by some ex and current soldiers in cohort with external forces.
Mahamadou Sana, Burkina Faso security minister said on state television that plotters included current and former soldiers, as well as terrorists. He cited Captain René David Ouédraogo as one of the soldiers who rallied to the plan. Ouédraogo is currently on the run.
The aim of the plan was to “sow total chaos, and place the country under the supervision of an international organisation”, Sana said on state television on Monday.
“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 said.
“The brains outside the country are all located in Ivory Coast,” he added, naming in particular Captain René David Ouédraogo and another former army officer, as brains behind the plot.
He said “sensitive information was passed on to “terrorists” to increase attacks on the military and civilians and “incite a revolt against the authorities”.
This is yet another attempt to overthrow Ibrahim Traoré after he seized power in a 2022 coup. The military leader had already claimed to have foiled a destabilisation plot in September 2024.
Traoré’s military government had pledged to fight jihadist groups and had even sought support from Russia, but security threats persists.
Traoré supporters who view him as generational leader believes that much of the crisis is coming from external forces, who are not happy with the stand of the government on France and other western powers.
Sadly due colonial influence, western power can easily get soldiers and politicians rallied against any government they view as underming their interest in the region and no leader at the present suites that description more than Capt Ibrahim Traore.
While reports from independent sources in Ouagadougou indicate that the majority of the country is happy with their young leader, stride in Agriculture and industrialisation, also, he reduced the salaries of ministers and parliamentarians by 30% while increasing the salaries of civil servants by 50%.
He banned the export of unrefined gold and inaugurated a state-of-the-art gold mine to enhance local processing capabilities.
To the man on the street Burkina Faso has not had it this good.
