African chief pardons soldiers 10 years after attempting coup

(MENAFN) Burkina Faso’s interim president, Captain Ibrahim Traore, has granted amnesty to 21 soldiers who were convicted nearly a decade ago for their involvement in a failed coup attempt. The official decree, published by local media on Monday, lists the soldiers involved in the 2015 plot against the transitional government that came into power after former President Blaise Compaore was ousted.

The soldiers, including two former unit commanders of the presidential guard, were convicted in 2019 by a military tribunal for treason, murder, and endangering state security. However, the amnesty excludes key figures such as Gilbert Diendere, Compaore’s former chief of staff, and Djibril Bassole, the former foreign minister, who had been sentenced for allegedly orchestrating the coup.

The pardoned soldiers will be reinstated into the national army and will assist in the fight against terrorism, which has plagued Burkina Faso since 2015. President Traore, who took power after leading two coups in 2022, has committed to reclaiming territory held by jihadist groups by the end of 2025. Since the insurgency began, Burkina Faso, along with its neighbors Mali and Niger, has increasingly sought alternative defense partnerships, including cooperation with Russia, after severing ties with France.

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