Burkina Faso’s ruling junta announced late Friday that it had foiled a sophisticated plot to assassinate the country’s military chief, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré, in an operation it alleges was orchestrated by his predecessor, Lt. Col. Paul‑Henri Damiba.

In a nationally televised address, Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said intelligence services intercepted the operation “in the final hours,” preventing what he described as a coordinated campaign to eliminate the head of state and strike other strategic targets across the country. Sana accused Damiba — who led Burkina Faso from January until he was deposed by Traoré in September 2022 — of recruiting military and civilian collaborators, securing foreign funding and planning simultaneous attacks on senior figures and key military infrastructure.

“Our intelligence services intercepted this operation in the final hours. They had planned to assassinate the head of state and then strike other key institutions, including civilian personalities,” Sana said, adding that the conspirators had discussed carrying out the assassination either at close range or by planting explosives at the president’s residence shortly after 23:00 local time on Saturday, Jan. 3. He said a leaked video showing plotters detailing their plans was among the evidence that led to the operation’s disruption.

Sana further alleged that the plot had been financed from the neighboring Ivory Coast, identifying a single transfer of 70 million CFA francs (about $125,000) as the most significant sum delivered to the conspiracy. He said the plotters intended to neutralize Burkina Faso’s drone‑launch base to delay any potential intervention by foreign forces after the strike. “We are carrying out ongoing investigations and have made several arrests. These individuals will be brought to justice soon,” the minister said, urging citizens not to be “misled, out of naivety, into dangerous schemes.”

There was no immediate public response from Col. Damiba, who lost power to Traoré in a coup last year, nor from Ivorian authorities. The number of arrests and details of detainees were not disclosed by the junta.

Since seizing power, Capt. Traoré, 37, has weathered at least two coup attempts and faces a worsening security crisis as jihadist violence sweeps parts of the country, displacing millions and undermining state authority. Despite concerns about his government’s authoritarian tendencies — critics cite arbitrary detentions of opponents, including military officers, and restrictions on the media — Traoré retains substantial domestic popularity and has become a vocal pan‑Africanist critic of Western influence, winning him support in some regional circles.

The junta’s allegations echo a pattern of mutual recrimination that has marked Burkina Faso’s turbulent politics since a 2014 uprising and a series of military takeovers. Sana’s accusation that Ivory Coast provided financial support for the plan follows earlier instances in which Ouagadougou has blamed foreign interference for internal destabilization. Ivory Coast has denied involvement in previous accusations; it had not commented on Friday’s specific claims.

Regional security analysts said the announcement could intensify tensions among West African neighbors already strained by cross‑border insurgencies, political rivalries and competing security partnerships. “Any credible suggestion that a neighboring state financed a coup plot raises the stakes for regional diplomacy and could complicate efforts to coordinate counter‑insurgency and humanitarian responses,” one analyst observed, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Damiba, a former head of state, led Burkina Faso after ousting a civilian government in January 2022 but was himself removed from power by Traoré in September of that year. His supporters have at times framed him as a nationalist and security‑minded officer; detractors fault him for failing to stem the jihadist insurgency that has plagued the Sahel.

The junta said the security situation is under control and promised further updates as investigations proceed. Observers and rights groups have urged transparency, calling for independent verification of the claims, the identities and treatment of those arrested, and the evidence underpinning allegations of foreign funding.

As Burkina Faso confronts both an entrenched armed insurgency and repeated internal power struggles, analysts warn that political instability will continue to complicate security operations and humanitarian relief efforts across the country and the wider Sahel region.