Burkina Faso’s military junta, on Wednesday evening claimed it foiled an ‘attempted coup d’état’ the previous day (Tuesday) in the country.
The claim of a coup plot came less than a year after the seizure of power by the military head of state Ibrahim Traoré.
While addressing in a statement broadcast on national television, the government “informs public opinion that a proven coup attempt was foiled on September 26, 2023 by Burkina Faso’s intelligence and security services”.
“At present, officers and other alleged actors involved in this destabilization attempt have been arrested and others are being actively sought”, continues the government, which deplores the fact that the perpetrators of this attempted putsch “had the dark intention of attacking the institutions of the Republic and plunging (the) country into chaos”.
On Tuesday evening, thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Ouagadougou in response to a call from supporters of Captain Traoré to “defend” him in the face of rumors of a putsch that were circulating on social networks, Africanews reports.
Asserting that it wanted to shed “all possible light on this plot”, the government “regrets that officers whose oath is to defend the homeland have strayed into an enterprise of this nature, which aims to hinder the march of the Burkinabe people for their sovereignty and total liberation from the terrorist hordes who are trying to enslave them”.
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In December, the military prosecutor’s office had already denounced an attempt to destabilize the regime and announced the arrests of military personnel.
Earlier this week, the Burkinabe government had attacked the Jeune Afrique media, which had published two articles referring to tensions within the army. It suspended publication on Monday.
At the time, it was the second coup d’état in eight months in Burkina Faso, which has been plagued for almost ten years by bloody jihadist violence over much of its territory.
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