Burkina Faso’s military government announced it had discovered an international plot to overthrow them, linking the plan to the August massacre of hundreds of civilians by Islamist insurgents.
However, some critics and analysts argue the statement aims to divert attention from the regime’s failure to manage the security crisis.
The junta, which seized power in 2022, initially promised to combat jihadist violence but has seen a rise in attacks. Critics believe the increasing violence has fueled public dissatisfaction.
One of the most brutal recent incidents occurred on August 24, when insurgents connected to al Qaeda killed hundreds of civilians digging defensive trenches in Barsalogho.
The government has been criticized for remaining largely silent on the massacre and failing to protect those ordered to work in such dangerous areas.
In a statement on Monday, interim security minister Mahamadou Sana claimed the Barsalogho massacre was part of a coordinated effort to destabilize Burkina Faso, aimed at creating chaos and facilitating terrorist infiltration into the capital, Ouagadougou.
He accused junta opponents, allegedly backed by Western intelligence and European mercenaries, of orchestrating the plot from countries like Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Nigeria.
The junta offered no concrete evidence for these claims. Investigative journalist and junta critic Newton Ahmed Barry, one of the named suspects, dismissed the accusations, stating on Facebook that the junta was using the massacre as a diversion from the tragedy’s scale.
Multiple civil society sources and analysts supported Barry’s view but remained anonymous due to fear of reprisals from the authoritarian government.
An analyst called the junta’s actions “a vulgar attempt to deflect responsibility for what happened and shift the blame to the opposition,” accusing them of framing their critics as accomplices of the Al Qaeda-linked JNIM group, which took responsibility for the Barsalogho attack.
The junta did not comment when asked. Reports from Reuters highlighted how the regime has silenced dissent through abductions, torture, and forced conscription of its critics.
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