The Ambassador of Burkina Faso to Ghana, Sini Pierre Sanou, has reportedly been sacked by the country’s military junta for allegedly being involved in a plot to overthrow the government of Captain Ibrahim Traore.
In a video address on Monday, September 23, 2024, the Minister for Security, Mahamdou Sana announced that the junta had successfully identified and thwarted a conspiracy involving military and civilian groups in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana aimed at overthrowing the government.
“The Burkinabe public and the international community are informed that individuals residing in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire have been active in a subversion effort against our country. These actors of chaos, supported by certain intelligence services of Western powers, are made up of civilians of various profiles as well as military personnel and former military personnel,” the official said.
According to the official, a recent attack by Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terrorists, an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist organization, in the Barsalogho Department of northern Burkina Faso on August 24, 2024, formed part of the grand plot by the individuals involved in the conspiracy against the junta.
The August attack led to the deaths of hundreds of members of the Burkina Faso Armed Forces, as well as civilians, and has been tagged as the deadliest attack in the history of the country plagued by jihadist insurgency.
Burkina Faso’s current military junta, known as the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), seized power in a coup d’état on January 23, 2022. Led by Captain Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the MPSR overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, citing the government’s inability to manage the country’s security crisis amid a growing Islamic insurgency.
However, Damiba’s rule was short-lived, as he was himself ousted in a subsequent coup in September 2022. The current leader of the military junta is Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who took power after Damiba’s ousting.
The MPSR’s takeover was marked by widespread celebrations in the capital city of Ouagadougou, with many citizens expressing frustration with the previous government’s handling of the security situation. The junta has since suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and parliament, and imposed a nationwide curfew.
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The international community has condemned the coup, with the African Union and ECOWAS suspending Burkina Faso’s membership. The United Nations has also called for the restoration of constitutional order and the release of detained government officials.
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