A coup d'état was launched in Burkina Faso on 23 January 2022. Gunfire erupted in front of the presidential residence in the Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou and several military barracks around the city. Soldiers were reported to have seized control of the military base in the capital. However, the government denied there was an ongoing coup in the country. Several hours later, President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was reported to have been detained by the soldiers at the military camp in the capital. On 24 January, the military announced on television that Kaboré had been deposed from his position as president. After the announcement, the military declared that the parliament, government and constitution had been dissolved. The coup d'état was led by military officer Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
A statement from the Twitter account of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré urged dialogue and invited the opposing soldiers to lay down arms but did not address whether he was in detention. Meanwhile, soldiers were reported to have surrounded the state news station RTB. AFP News reported the president had been arrested along with other government officials. Two security officials said at the Sangoulé Lamizana barracks in the capital, "President Kaboré, the head of parliament, and the ministers are effectively in the hands of the soldiers." Military captain Sidsoré Kader Ouedraogo said the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration "has decided to assume its responsibilities before history." In a statement, he said soldiers were putting an end to Kaboré's presidency because of the deteriorating security situation amid the deepening Islamic insurgency and the president's inability to manage the crisis. He also said the new military leaders would work to establish a calendar "acceptable to everyone" for holding new elections, without giving further details. ECOWAS and African Union suspended Burkina Faso's membership in the aftermath of the coup. On 31 January, the military junta restored the constitution and appointed Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba as interim president.
Damiba's rule was unpopular and lasted only 8 months, until he himself was deposed in the subsequent coup d'état in September 2022.
Background
Following the First Libyan Civil War and the concurrent NATO intervention in 2011, Islamist attacks in Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali became more common. Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been fighting Islamic State and al-Qaeda in some parts of the country. However, military personnel complained about a lack of military equipment and logistics. This caused discontent among the military ranks, members of which criticized the government's lack of effort combating jihadist groups. Former CIA political analyst Michael Shurkin stated the army is "ill equipped and unprepared" for battle.
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was elected for his second term as president in the 2020 Burkinabè general election. Kaboré's government faced regular protests due to the handling of the ongoing jihadi crisis in the country. In December 2021, Prime Minister Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré was fired from his post amid an escalating security crisis. On 22 January 2022, anti-government protests erupted in the capital. The protesters were reportedly angered by the government's inability to stop armed attacks across the country. Several protesters asked for the resignation of President Kaboré.
Coup
In August 2021, 100 members of the Burkina Faso Armed Forces planned to take over the country. Some of the soldiers said the planning was outside the capital via messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. Earlier, the ruling People's Movement for Progress party said that both Kaboré and a government minister had survived an assassination attempt. On 11 January 2022, two weeks prior to the successful coup, the government reportedly thwarted a coup attempt in the country.