Coup Atlas Research Database
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43910082016ConspiracyMilitary coup

Burkina Faso, 2016 — military coup conspiracy

Burkina Faso (BFA)West Africa, AfricaOctober 8, 2016

Event Summary

This entry is coded 8 October 2016, corresponding to the 2016 Burkina Faso coup attempt against the government of President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. On 8 October 2016 at least thirty former members of the elite presidential guard, known as the RSP, which had been disbanded after its failed September 2015 coup, planned a coordinated attack on three locations in the capital Ouagadougou: the presidential residence, an army barracks, and a prison, the latter apparently to free RSP members held since the 2015 putsch. The attempt was foiled; two people were killed and at least ten others were arrested in connection with it.

It was led by a former RSP member, Gaston Coulibaly. The episode came amid the tense transition that followed the 2014 popular uprising that ousted long-time ruler Blaise Compaore and the failed September 2015 RSP coup led by General Gilbert Diendere, with Kabore having been elected in late 2015. The 8 October 2016 coding matches the coup attempt.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Kabore's government foiled the ex-RSP plot, killing two and arresting at least ten
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Roch Marc Christian Kabore (target)
ex-RSP member Gaston Coulibaly (leader)
around 30 former presidential-guard soldiers

Sources

The 2016 Burkina Faso coup attempt was an attempt to overthrow the government of Burkina Faso on 8 October 2016, when at least 30 ex-members of the elite presidential guard known as the RSP planned an attack on three locations: the presidential residence, an army barracks, and a prison in Ouagadougou.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2016 Burkina Faso coup attempt open source ↗
Two people were killed and at least ten other people were arrested in connection with the attempt, which was led by Gaston Coulibaly, an ex-RSP member.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2016 Burkina Faso coup attempt open source ↗
The RSP presidential guard had been disbanded after its failed September 2015 coup, which was led by General Gilbert Diendere against the transitional government following the 2014 uprising that ousted Blaise Compaore.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2015 Burkina Faso coup attempt open source ↗
One target of the 2016 attempt was a prison in Ouagadougou, an apparent bid to free RSP members detained in connection with the September 2015 coup attempt.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2016 Burkina Faso coup attempt open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 8 Oct 2016 matches the 2016 Burkina Faso coup attempt exactly. Verified as a discrete event (foiled ex-RSP plot). Third Burkina Faso record in the run (after Dec 1989 and Oct 2003).

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
43910082016

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Kabore's government foiled the ex-RSP plot, killing two and arresting at least ten.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Wikipedia

The New Tribune

“Burkina Faso: Government says it has a coup,” October 21, 2016

AllAfrica.com

“Un coup d’Etat dejoue au Burkina Faso,” October 21, 2016

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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