Military Quells Alleged Burkina Faso Coup, a Brief Background

The military rulers of Burkina Faso have successfully thwarted an attempted coup by army officers this Tuesday, as disclosed by the country’s intelligence and security services. A statement from the military government has affirmed that the officers, along with other conspirators, have been detained, and a comprehensive investigation is presently underway.

This attempted coup surfaces less than a month after the military orchestrated a coup, becoming the second such incident in Burkina Faso in less than a year. The nation has been ensnared in a jihadist insurgency since 2015, leading to the displacement of millions and causing thousands of deaths.

The governing body has proclaimed its commitment to reinstating national security and has pledged to facilitate free and fair elections in the coming future.

A bried background

A coup d’état was instigated in Burkina Faso on 23 January 2022. Reports emerged depicting gunfire breaking out in front of the presidential residence in the capital, Ouagadougou, and within various military barracks throughout the city. It is alleged that soldiers seized control of the military base in the capital. Nevertheless, the government refuted any claims of an ongoing coup within the country. Subsequently, it was reported that President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré had been detained by soldiers at a military camp in the capital.

The next day, the military announced on television that President Kaboré had been deposed. Following this revelation, the military proclaimed the dissolution of the parliament, government, and constitution. The orchestrator of the coup d’état was identified as military officer Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

A statement from the Twitter account of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré encouraged dialogue and invited the dissenting soldiers to lay down their arms, though it did not clarify his detention status. Meanwhile, soldiers reportedly encircled the state news station RTB, and the president, along with other government officials, was arrested, as reported by AFP News.

Military captain Sidsoré Kader Ouedraogo, representing the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration, announced the termination of Kaboré’s presidency, citing the escalating security situation and the deepening Islamic insurgency, coupled with the president’s failure to manage the crisis. He also stated that the new military leaders were committed to establishing a universally acceptable calendar for holding new elections.

In the aftermath of the coup, ECOWAS and the African Union suspended Burkina Faso’s membership. On 31 January, the constitution was reinstated by the military junta, and Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was appointed as interim president. However, his rule, marred by unpopularity, lasted merely eight months before he was deposed in the subsequent coup d’état in September 2022.