1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état

The 1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état was a bloody military coup in Burkina Faso, which took place on 15 October 1987. The coup was organized by Captain Blaise Compaoré against incumbent far-left President Captain Thomas Sankara, his former friend^[4] and associate during the 1983 upheaval.

1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état
Date 15 October 1987 Location Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso 12°21′26″N 1°32′7″W Result Coup attempt succeeds. Thomas Sankara is overthrown and murdered. Blaise Compaoré is installed as the new President.
Belligerents
Government CDRs	Military faction NPFL Supported by: France[1] Mali[2] United States (alleged)[3]
Commanders and leaders
Thomas Sankara  Mariam Sankara	Blaise Compaoré Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani Henri Zongo Charles Taylor
Nexus of coup in Ouagadougou (marked green), Burkina Faso

Compaoré has never acknowledged that a coup had taken place and claims to be a Sankara loyalist.^[5]

Events

Sankara was killed by an armed group with twelve other officials, in a gun battle at the presidential palace.^[6][7] Immediately, Compaoré assumed the presidency; he cited deterioration in relations with neighbouring countries as one of the reasons for the coup, and stated that Sankara jeopardised foreign relations with former colonial power France and neighbouring Ivory Coast.^[8]

Aftermath

Following the coup and although Sankara was known to be dead, some CDRs (formed by Sankara, inspired by the CDRs in Cuba^[9]) mounted an armed resistance to the military for several days.^[10]

Compaoré described the killing of Sankara as an "accident", but the circumstances have never been properly investigated.^[11] Sankara's body was dismembered and he was buried in an unmarked grave^[12] while his widow Mariam and two children fled the nation.^[13] The 2015 autopsy had revealed that Sankara's body was "riddled" with "more than a dozen" bullets, as reported by one of the lawyers representing Mariam Sankara.^[14]

Compaoré introduced a policy of "rectification", immediately reversed the nationalizations, overturned nearly all of Sankara's leftist and Third Worldist policies, and rejoined the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to bring in "desperately needed" funds to restore the "shattered" economy.^[15]

Initially ruling in a triumvirate under the Popular Front with Major Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani and Captain Henri Zongo, in September 1989 Compaoré had these two arrested, charged with plotting to overthrow the government, summarily tried, and executed.^[16] Compaoré went on to rule the country until he was ousted in the 2014 Burkinabé uprising.^[17]

Liberian involvement

Prince Johnson, a former Liberian warlord allied to Charles Taylor also known for supervising the assassination of president Samuel Doe, told the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the coup was organized by Taylor.^[18]

References

1. Jaffre, Bruno (2018). A Certain Amount of Madness: The Life, Politics and Legacies of Thomas Sankara. Pluto Press. p. 106.
2. "Qui a fait tuer Sankara ? Ouagadougou, l'ombre d'une main étrangère (3/6)". 9 October 2017.
3. Jaffre, Bruno (2018). A Certain Amount of Madness: The Life, Politics and Legacies of Thomas Sankara. Pluto Press. p. 103-105.
4. "A FRIENDSHIP DIES IN A BLOODY COUP". The New York Times. 26 October 1987. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
5. "Burkina Faso tries alleged killers of iconic leader Sankara | DW | 11.10.2021". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 2021-10-11.
6. "Burkino Faso Leader Ousted In Coup Led by Chief Adviser". The New York Times. 16 October 1987. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
7. "Deposed Leader of Burkina Faso Is Executed With 12 Aides". The New York Times. 17 October 1987. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
8. Burkina Faso Salutes "Africa's Che" Thomas Sankara by Mathieu Bonkoungou, Reuters, 17 October 2007.
9. Otayek, René (1986). "The Revolutionary Process in Burkina Faso: Breaks and Continuities". In Markakis, John; Waller, Michael (eds.). Military Marxist Régimes in Africa. London: Frank Cass. p. 95. ISBN 113-517-654-X.
10. Ake, Claude (2001). Democracy and Development in Africa. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. p. 95. ISBN 081-572-348-2.
11. "United Nations Human Rights Website - Treaty Bodies Database - Document - Jurisprudence - Burkina Faso". Unhchr.ch. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
12. "Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man" by California Newsreel.
13. "Canadian Council on International Law - Sankara v. Burkina Faso". 2007-09-30. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
14. Iaccino, Ludovica (14 October 2015). "Thomas Sankara: Body of Africa's Che Guevara riddled with bullets, autopsy reveals three decades after death". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
15. Mason, Katrina and; Knight, James (2011). Burkina Faso, 2nd. The Globe Pequot Press Inc. p. 31. ISBN 9781841623528.
16. "Burkina Faso (Upper Volta): Independence to the Present" Archived 2020-08-27 at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopedia of African History
17. "Burkina Faso general takes over as Compaore resigns". BBC. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
18. "US freed Taylor to overthrow Doe, Liberia's TRC hears". The M&G Online. 27 August 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2014.

See also

• History of Burkina Faso