‘I’LL TAKE YOU DOWN’:
Observers said there have been tensions between Ibrahim Traore and Oumarou Yabre, while the third-in-command has not been seen recently
Ibrahim Traore, the head of Burkina Faso’s military junta, last week sought to stamp out speculation of a power struggle at the highest levels of government, warning that he intended to remain the west African country’s only leader.The prolonged absence of two influential junta figures has fueled rumors of a tussle within the military government, which came to power in a coup in September 2022.“There can’t be two captains on one ship,” Traore told community leaders in Ouahigouya on Thursday.
Burkina Faso’s military ruler, Captain Ibrahim Traore.
“Everyone who works with me knows how I operate,” the 38-year-old captain said. “If anyone screws up, I’ll take you down without a second thought. There are no strongmen around me.”The speculation of infighting focuses on the junta’s second and third-in-command — Oumarou Yabre, one of the most influential figures in Burkina Faso’s security apparatus, and Farouk Azaria Sorgho, junta spokesman and commander of a Rapid Intervention Battalion.
