Burkina Faso says it stopped plot funded by Côte d’Ivoire to kill military leader and seize power
Authorities in Burkina Faso say they have stopped a detailed plan to assassinate the country’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and take over key government institutions.
The country's security minister, Mahamadou Sana, shared the news during a national TV broadcast on RTB. He said the plan was discovered just before it was about to be carried out.
When it happened
The attempt was set to happen on the night of Saturday, 3 January 2026. On that day, some social media users started posting about a possible threat to the government, which led some people to protest in the streets. A pro-government web TV station broke the news on 5 January, and the official confirmation came on Tuesday, 7 January.
Who is accused
The government has blamed Lt Col Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba for leading the plan. Damiba previously led Burkina Faso after taking power in January 2022. He was removed by Captain Traoré in September 2022 and has been living in Togo since then.
Minister Sana said Damiba was responsible for putting the plan together. He allegedly brought in both military and civilian supporters and received money from outside the country to carry out the plan. The minister claimed that 70 million CFA francs (£92,000) came from Côte d’Ivoire to help fund the operation.
What was planned
According to reports, the group aimed to kill Captain Traoré either directly or by using explosives at his home. After that, they allegedly wanted to:
- Attack other top military and civilian figures.
- Shut down the country's drone base to stop a quick military response.
- Open the way for a ground attack from foreign forces.
Minister Sana said, "Our intelligence services intercepted this operation in the final hours. They had planned to assassinate the head of state and then strike other key institutions, including civilian personalities". He also added, "after this action, there was to follow an operation to put the drone base out of service, and a ground military intervention by external forces".
Current status
Several people have been arrested, and investigations are still ongoing. Sana told the public that the threat had been contained and warned them "not to be misled, out of naivety, into dangerous schemes". He said the government will release videos of confessions from those involved and that they will face legal consequences.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
