| 1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état attempt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Council of Popular Salvation Communist Officers' Group | Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo Thomas Sankara | Saye Zerbo | ||||||
The1983 Upper Voltan coup d'état attempt took place on 28 February 1983, in theRepublic of Upper Volta (todayBurkina Faso), just a few months after a previouscoup d'état on 7 November 1982 by radical elements of thearmy against the regime of ColonelSaye Zerbo, who himself came to power in a1980 coup against Major GeneralSangoulé Lamizana.[1]
The coup attempt on 28 February, which targeted the Council of Popular Salvation (CPS) and its leader MajorJean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, failed.[2]
Several army officers intended to massacre the CPS in assembly and restore Zerbo's regime. However, they were arrested by other officials. One of the leading putschists was a commandant who had been considered for the presidency following the 1982 coup. When questioned about the incident, Ouédraogo told the press, "Since our regime makes many people uneasy, it is quite normal that people should plan this sort of reaction."[3] He publicly declared his determination to "guarantee order and security" and asserted that "the army will not allow itself to be dissuaded by tribal fights and ideologies". He also stated that corruption and fraud in the business community had, in part, facilitated the state of "total anarchy" over which the government presided, and announced that the national administration would be restructured to mitigate the disorder.[4]
