Burkina Faso junta leader warns rivals as power-struggle rumours grow

Ibrahim Traore, the head of Burkina Faso's military junta, sought last week to reject speculation about a power struggle at the top of the government, warning that he intended to remain the west African country's sole leader. The rumours have been fuelled by the prolonged absence of two influential junta figures: Oumarou Yabre, described in the report as one of the most powerful figures in the security apparatus, and Farouk Azaria Sorgho, the junta spokesman and commander of a Rapid Intervention Battalion. Traore, a 38-year-old captain, spoke to community leaders in Ouahigouya in northern Burkina Faso on Thursday. He said there could not be two captains on one ship and warned that anyone who made mistakes would be brought down without hesitation. Burkina Faso's military government came to power in a coup in September 2022. Yabre, who heads the intelligence services and National Security Council and is considered Burkina Faso's second-in-command, has not been seen in public since late May. The report said observers had described apparent tensions between Traore and Yabre as early as 2023, although both men quickly and publicly denied them. A security official, speaking anonymously, said Yabre had stopped going to his office at the National Intelligence Agency and that the security detail at his home had been sharply reduced. Another security official said Yabre had not appeared at a usual flag-raising ceremony at the presidency or at a recent presidential palace ceremony promoting three senior officers to general. People close to Yabre said several of his associates had been abducted or arrested, including Islamic preacher Ishaq Kindo, who had criticised a bill on religious freedoms. Traore criticised Kindo in his remarks on Thursday and said Kindo had thought he was powerful because he created an Islamic police force in 2019. Two officials close to Yabre were removed from their posts by presidential decree on June 17, one from the National Hydrocarbons Company and another from a youth affairs advisory role. Sorgho, described as the junta's high-profile third-in-command, has not appeared publicly since mid-May. He commands Rapid Intervention Battalion No. 4 in Ouagadougou and is spokesman for KORAG, a body set up by Traore to define and implement the junta's strategic vision. Security officials alleged that Sorgho had been abducted by associates of Traore, while people close to Sorgho's father, former infrastructure minister Adama Luc Sorgho, said the father had been arrested and later abducted by armed men. The report said security operations have intensified in the capital over the past two months. Local residents said roads closed for years had been reopened to reroute traffic away from the presidential palace, where security checkpoints had been set up.