Burkina Faso and Niger, both members of the Confederation of Sahel States, have foiled major destabilization operations to overthrow their governments.
On Jan. 6 Burkina Faso Security Minister Mahamadou Sana released a video message exposing an “attempt to destabilize the country.” He said the operation was planned for Jan. 3, and that the plotters had intended to assassinate President Ibrahim Traoré and several military and civilian officials, disable a “drone base,” and follow up with a “ground military intervention by foreign forces.” The coup was to be led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the former transitional President ousted by Ibrahim Traoré on Sept. 30, 2022, and now exiled in Togo. “A significant portion of the funding came from Côte d’Ivoire, with the latest contribution reportedly amounting to 70 million [CFA francs],” Sana added.
Authorities have been arrested; numerous civilians “will be brought before the Prosecutor of Burkina Faso. The full force of the law will be applied.”
On Jan. 1, Niger declared First Adviser of the Embassy of Benin Seidou Imourana persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. The decision was reportedly made “on the principle of reciprocity.”
Niger’s President Abdurahaman Chiani has repeatedly accused Benin of using its territory as a logistical zone to destabilize the Sahel. Despite attempts at mediation, the border between the two countries remains closed.
Behind these attempts to destabilize these countries is believed to be France, whose military bases were expelled from these countries in the last year.
