Burkina Faso’s current military junta seized power almost a year ago.
The military junta ruling the West African nation of Burkina Faso says it has thwarted a coup attempt. A statement read on Burkina Faso’s state television said the country’s intelligence and security services foiled the coup on Tuesday.
Officers suspected of the hijacking attempt and other participants have been arrested and some are being sought. However, in its statement, the Junta did not elaborate on the identities of those arrested or wanted.
Later, the military prosecutor said that four people involved have been arrested and two people are still being sought.
– With the help of the investigation, the instigators of this plot will be revealed, the statement said.
There was a military coup in Burkina Faso a year ago in September, when the current captain Ibrahim Traore ousted the previous military coup d’état Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiban. This had seized power eight months earlier Roch Marc Christian from Kabore. Both hijackings were partly due to dissatisfaction with the results in the fight against jihadists.
On Tuesday night in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, thousands of people took to the streets to show their support for Traore as rumors of a coup attempt spread on social media.
Before this, the military junta had closed down the French-language Jeune Afrique magazine on Monday, because the magazine had published a “false” article about tensions and discontent among the country’s armed forces.
According to the Reuters news agency, the situation in the capital had already calmed down on Wednesday evening.
There have been numerous military coups in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. It became independent in 1960 as Upper Volta and in 1984 it changed its name to Burkina Faso.
Military coups were common in the country’s first decades. In the year 1987 Blaise Compaore seized power and then ruled the country for 27 years until he abdicated. After Compaoré, Kabore was elected president in 2015, who was re-elected in 2020 and then ousted.
Burkina Faso’s neighboring countries Mali and Niger have also experienced military coups this decade and are also fighting jihadists.
Sources: AFP, Reuters
The news has been updated on 28.9. at 3:24 a.m. with information on the number of people arrested and wanted.