Burkina Faso Junta Leader Traore Warns: ‘I’ll Take You Down Without a Second Thought’ Amid Power Struggle

Burkina Faso’s junta leader Ibrahim Traore has issued a stark warning to potential rivals, declaring he will eliminate any challengers without hesitation, as speculation mounts over a power struggle within the military government. During a speech in Ouahigouya on Thursday, Traore told community leaders, “There can’t be two captains on one ship. If anyone screws up, I’ll take you down without a second thought. There are no strongmen around me.”

The threat comes as the country’s second- and third-in-command, Oumarou Yabre and Farouk Azaria Sorgho, have not been seen publicly since May. Yabre, who heads the intelligence services and National Security Council, has stopped going to his office and his security detail has been reduced, according to security sources. Several of Yabre’s close associates have reportedly been abducted or arrested, including Islamic preacher Ishaq Kindo, whom Traore publicly criticized on Thursday, calling him “fundamentally bad.”

Sorgho, commander of a powerful Rapid Intervention Battalion and spokesman for the junta’s strategic body KORAG, has also disappeared from public view since mid-May. His battalion is now run by his deputy, and security officials allege Sorgho has been “abducted” by Traore’s associates. His father, former infrastructure minister Adama Luc Sorgho, was also arrested and abducted, according to his entourage.

Security operations have intensified in Ouagadougou over the past two months, with roads reopened and checkpoints set up near the presidential palace. The disappearances and Traore’s rhetoric have heightened concerns about internal instability in the junta, which seized power in a 2022 coup.

Article and image source: allafrica.com