Burkina Faso has reported the detention of four officers, one day after the military government announced the successful prevention of a coup attempt.
According to military prosecutor Ahmed Ferdinand Sountoura, the four officers are suspected of being involved in a conspiracy against state security, as stated in a document seen by AFP on Thursday. Two additional individuals are currently on the run, as indicated in the same statement.
Late on Wednesday, the junta revealed that the intelligence and security services had successfully foiled a coup attempt that occurred the previous day. The military government has expressed its commitment to fully investigating this plot.
This incident transpired nearly a year after junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore assumed power in Burkina Faso on September 30, 2022. His takeover marked the country’s second coup in eight months, partly driven by dissatisfaction with the inability to quell a persistent insurgency that spilled over from neighboring Mali in 2015.
The military prosecutor has called on anyone with information that could help uncover the truth to come forward and testify.
On Tuesday, thousands of individuals took to the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou, in response to a call from Traore’s supporters to defend him in the wake of coup rumours circulating on social media.
Captain Ibrahim Traore took to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday to emphasise his determination to lead the transition securely, despite facing adversity and various manoeuvres aimed at obstructing their relentless progress towards sovereignty.
In a separate development, the French-language news outlet Jeune Afrique, which had recently published two articles about tensions within the military, had its print and online operations suspended in Burkina Faso on Monday. The Burkinabe government accused the news outlet of attempting to “discredit” the military.
Following Traore’s takeover, military prosecutors in December 2022 reported an attempt to destabilise state institutions. Earlier this month, the country’s military prosecutor announced the arrest and charge of three soldiers accused of plotting against the ruling junta. Investigators had received information about soldiers and former soldiers working in intelligence who were conducting surveillance on the homes and other locations frequented by key figures in the junta, including Traore.