On July 11, 2024, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, head of Burkina Faso's military regime, accused neighboring Ivory Coast and Benin of attempting to destabilize his country amid ongoing diplomatic tensions in West Africa. In a lengthy speech, Traoré criticized "imperialists" for wanting to exploit Burkina Faso and its neighbors. He specifically accused Ivory Coast of hosting a "center of operations" aimed at destabilizing Burkina Faso and claimed Benin harbored French bases used as terrorist operation centers against his country. These accusations were previously made by Niger’s Prime Minister and have been denied by France and Benin.
Traoré emphasized Burkina Faso's sovereignty, criticized Ivory Coast's alliance with France, and discussed plans to take control of and exploit the country's mining resources, particularly gold. He also called for better communication within Burkina Faso to prevent negative portrayals of the country. Burkina Faso, along with Niger and Mali, forms the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January.