Burkina's military govt says foiled attempts to 'destabilise' country

Burkina Faso's military government has said it had foiled "several attempts to destabilise the country" led by a former high-ranking army official who previously seized power in the West African nation.

"We were able to foil several attempts at destabilisation," Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said in a statement read out on state television late on Monday.

He said Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who was ousted from power in 2022, had led the "military part of this plot".

Several people had been arrested in connection with the plot, including Ahmed Kinda, a former commander of the country’s special forces, Sana said.

Damiba seized power in a January 2022 coup against elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Little more than eight months later, Damiba himself was overthrown by a 34-year-old captain, Ibrahim Traore, who is currently in power.

Under the leadership of Ibrahim Traore's military government, Burkina Faso has been facing an armed insurgency from the ISGS, a Daesh affiliate terror group in the Greater Sahara, and the al Qaeda-associated JNIM, both of which entered the country from Mali in 2016.