Burkina Faso’s interim leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, on Thursday revealed that he was the target of a coup attempt last week, reported The BBC.
In a meeting with civil society organisations on Thursday, Captain Traore confirmed the coup attempt and said that he knew who was behind it. He said there have been no arrests in connection to the coup as preferred dialogue over arrest.
As per reports, during the meeting, the president asked for everyone’s support because some forces are trying to sabotage the government’s efforts and undermine morale.
Burkina Faso’s president reportedly claimed that money is being distributed to influence certain elements to destabilize Burkina Faso’s government and asked those in the meeting not to fall for it.
In September, Traore, 34, led a group of soldiers who deposed Lt. Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had himself seized power in a coup. Damiba ousted the elected government of President Roch Marc Christian Kabore in January this year, accused him of being ineffective in the face of jihadist violence.
Burkina Faso’s people has been battling an insurgency that has spread from Mali over the past decade. The number of internally displaced people crossed 1.9 million at the end of April.
Other countries in the Sahel region including Chad, Mali, and Niger also face a combination of violence, poverty, and the effects of climate change.
More than 2.5 million people have fled their homes in the Sahel region over the past decade, according to UN figures.
Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have occupied swathes of Burkina Faso in recent years, part of a wider insurgency across West Africa’s semi-arid Sahel region.
Burkina Faso has been hit by movements affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State for seven years, which have killed more than 2,000 civilians and soldiers and displaced nearly two million.
