Three Burkina Soldiers Arrested For Alleged Plot Against Regime

On Friday, the military prosecutor of Burkina Faso announced the arrest and charges filed against three soldiers accused of conspiring against the ruling junta.

Last month, investigators received information about individuals, including soldiers and former soldiers with intelligence backgrounds, conducting surveillance on residences and key figures associated with the junta, including Captain Ibrahim Traore. Their objective appeared to be destabilizing the transitional period, referring to the interim military rule preceding promised elections.

Following investigations, the three suspects were detained under the orders of an examining magistrate. They face charges related to a military conspiracy, violation of military orders, plotting against state security, participation in a criminal association, and endangerment, as stated by Military Prosecutor Major Alphonse Zorma.

The individuals in custody are identified as Warrant Officer Windinmalegde Kabore, Sergeant Brice Ismael Ramde, and former corporal Sami Dah, who had previously been convicted in a plot against the state in 2015. Major Zorma confirmed that they have confessed to their involvement.

Burkina Faso, a nation in the Sahel region, has experienced ongoing instability since gaining independence from France in 1960. Recent years have seen two coups driven by military discontent amid a prolonged jihadist insurgency.

Captain Ibrahim Traore assumed power on September 30, 2022, becoming one of the world’s youngest leaders. He ousted Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had taken control just eight months earlier after the removal of Burkina’s elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Shortly after Traore’s rise to power, military prosecutors reported an attempt to destabilize state institutions, with civilians and a lieutenant-colonel named Emmanuel Zoungrana implicated.

Since 2015, over 16,000 civilians, troops, and police have lost their lives in Burkina Faso due to the jihadist insurgency originating in neighboring Mali, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). This conflict has also displaced more than two million people, contributing to one of Africa’s most severe internal displacement crises.

Traore has pledged a return to democracy, with presidential elections scheduled for July 2024.