Coup Atlas Research Database
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43909272023ConspiracyMilitary coup

Burkina Faso, 2023 — military coup conspiracy

Burkina Faso (BFA)West Africa, AfricaSeptember 27, 2023

Event Summary

This entry is coded 27 September 2023, corresponding to the 2023 Burkina Faso coup attempt against the military junta of Captain Ibrahim Traore. On the night of 27 September 2023 the junta announced that a coup attempt had been foiled on 26 September by the country's intelligence and security services, saying that officers and other alleged participants had been arrested and others were being sought, and that the plotters had intended to attack the institutions of the republic and plunge the country into chaos. The junta stated that four officers were arrested and two were on the run, later naming the alleged perpetrators as the special forces commander Abdoul Aziz Aouoba, Lieutenant Colonel Boubacar Keita, Lieutenant Colonel Cheikh Hamza Ouattara, and Christophe Maiga, with former intelligence director Sekou Ouedraogo in hiding.

The plot came amid army discontent and rumours of mutiny nearly a year after Traore's own September 2022 coup, and pro-Traore crowds took to the streets. The 27 September 2023 coding matches the junta's announcement.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Traore's junta said it foiled the plot and arrested several officers
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Captain Ibrahim Traore (target)
special forces commander Abdoul Aziz Aouoba
Lt Cols Boubacar Keita and Cheikh Hamza Ouattara

Sources

On the night of 27 September the junta stated that a coup attempt by high-ranking security officers was foiled by intelligence gathered by the Burkinabe intelligence agency, that four officers were arrested in connection with the attempt, and that two more were on the run.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2023 Burkina Faso coup attempt open source ↗
Burkina Faso's military government said in a statement read on state television that a proven coup attempt was foiled on 26 September 2023 by the country's intelligence and security services and that officers and other alleged participants had been arrested.
SOURCE REVIEWED VOA: Burkina Faso's Military Government Says It Foiled Coup Attempt open source ↗
The junta named the alleged perpetrators as Abdoul Aziz Aouoba, commander of the Burkinabe Special Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Boubacar Keita, Lieutenant Colonel Cheikh Hamza Ouattara, and Christophe Maiga, with two others including former intelligence chief Sekou Ouedraogo said to be in hiding.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2023 Burkina Faso coup attempt open source ↗
The alleged attempt came almost exactly one year after Traore seized power in a coup on 30 September 2022, amid army discontent, and on the night of 26 September pro-Traore social media accounts urged supporters to protest in his support after rumors of a possible coup surfaced.
SOURCE REVIEWED Africanews: Burkina Faso's transitional government claims foiled 'attempted coup' open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 27 Sep 2023 matches the junta's announcement (the plot itself was foiled 26 Sep). Verified as the September 2023 Burkina Faso coup attempt. Fifth Burkina Faso record in the run.

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
43909272023

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Traore's junta said it foiled the plot and arrested several officers.

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

CNN

“Four Officers Arrested in Burkina Faso After Thwarted Coup Attempt, Prosecutor Says,” September 28, 2023

Times of Oman

“Burkina Faso Junta Says It Foiled a Coup Attempt,” September 28, 2023

Financial Times

“Burkina Faso Junta Claims to Have Foiled Coup: Sahel Region,” September 29, 2023

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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