Coup Atlas Research Database
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43904162025ConspiracyMilitary coup

Burkina Faso, 2025 — military coup conspiracy

Burkina Faso (BFA)West Africa, AfricaApril 16, 2025

Event Summary

This entry is coded 16 April 2025, the date on which a major coup plot against the junta of Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso was set to culminate. On 21 April 2025 Security Minister Mahamadou Sana announced on state television that the government had dismantled a major plot to overthrow Traore and sow total chaos, saying the plan was to culminate on Wednesday 16 April 2025 in an assault on the presidency by soldiers recruited by the nation's enemies, timed with other large-scale attacks. The government said it uncovered the plot by intercepting communications between a Burkinabe military officer and terrorist leaders, that active and former soldiers as well as terrorists were involved, and that religious and traditional leaders had been approached to sway officers.

Authorities said the masterminds were based in Cote d'Ivoire, naming exiled former officers such as Major Joanny Compaore and Lieutenant Abdramane Barry, and that the aim was to place the country under the supervision of an international organisation. A dozen military personnel, including two officers, were arrested. The 16 April 2025 coding matches the planned date of the assault on the presidency.

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 made arrests
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Captain Ibrahim Traore (target)
exiled officers Major Joanny Compaore and Lt Abdramane Barry
Security Minister Mahamadou Sana (announcing)

Sources

Burkina Faso's military government said it had foiled a major plot to overthrow junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore, and plotters had planned to swarm the presidential palace on 16 April 2025, with the coup attempt aiming to sow total chaos and place the country under the supervision of an international organisation.
SOURCE REVIEWED Africanews: Burkina Faso military government says it thwarted major coup attempt open source ↗
Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said the plotters included current and former soldiers as well as terrorists, and that the government first gained knowledge of the plot by intercepting communications between a high-ranking Burkinabe military officer and terrorist leaders.
SOURCE REVIEWED Africanews: Burkina Faso military government says it thwarted major coup attempt open source ↗
Sana said the manoeuvre was to culminate on Wednesday 16 April 2025 in an assault on the presidency by a group of soldiers recruited by the nation's enemies, and that the brains outside the country were all located in Ivory Coast, naming two former army officers, Major Joanny Compaore and Lieutenant Abdramane Barry.
SOURCE REVIEWED France 24: Burkina Faso junta claims it stopped a 'major plot' to sow 'total chaos' open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 16 Apr 2025 matches the planned date of the assault on the presidency. This is the SAME plot as the entry coded 21 Apr 2025 (the announcement date); the two adjacent Burkina Faso April 2025 entries are the two dates of one episode. Seventh 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
43904162025

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 made arrests.

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

AP News

“Thousands rally in Burkina Faso in support of military junta following alleged coup attempt,” April 30, 2025

Deutsche Welle

“Burkina Faso junta says it foiled coup attempt,” April 22, 2025

Brasil de Fato

“Burkina Faso army says it foiled ’major’ coup plot,” April 22, 2025

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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