Burkina Faso foils plot to assassinate Capt Ibrahim Traoré, says junta
A plot to kill Burkina Faso’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, was foiled, the West African country announced.
The security minister said in a late-night broadcast that the sophisticated plan was devised by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Henri Damiba, the officer dismissed by Traoré in September 2022.
“Our intelligence services stopped this operation in the last hours. They had planned to assassinate the head of state and then attack other important institutions, including civilian figures,” Mahamadou Sana said. Mahamadou Sana also claimed that the conspiracy was financed from neighboring Ivory Coast.
There was no comment from Col Damiba or Ivory Coast.
Captain Traoré has faced at least two coup attempts since seizing power and is also grappling with growing jihadist violence that has displaced millions of people from their homes.
Despite these challenges and his authoritarian reputation, the 37-year-old military leader maintains strong popular support and has gained a continent-wide following with his pan-Africanist vision and criticism of Western influence.
Authorities have uncovered a leaked video showing the conspirators discussing their plan, according to the security minister.
In the footage, they allegedly said how they planned to assassinate the president at close range or by planting explosives in his house, just after 23:00 local time on Saturday, January 3.
They later allegedly planned to target other senior military and civilian figures.
Sana claimed that Damiba mobilized both soldiers and civilian supporters, secured foreign funding, most notably 70 million CFA francs ($125,000; £92,000) from Ivory Coast, and planned to eliminate the country’s drone launch base before foreign forces intervened.
“We are conducting ongoing investigations and have made many arrests. These people will soon be brought to justice,” the minister said in a statement on national television. he said.
Sana stressed that the situation was under control and called on citizens “not to be led into dangerous plans out of naivety.”
It is not clear how many people were detained.
Domestic and foreign critics accuse Traoré of authoritarianism and say his government has suppressed dissent, including arbitrary detentions of military officers and restrictions on the media.
This is not the first time the junta has blamed foreign interference in its affairs in Ivory Coast.
These ongoing internal power struggles will further increase regional tensions.
Col Damiba served as leader of Burkina Faso from January to September 2022 after seizing power from an elected government.
After being dismissed, He said he wished success to his successor in the message he published on social media..
