Burkina Faso’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, has granted amnesty to 21 soldiers convicted of participating in a failed 2015 coup, according to an official decree seen by AFP on Monday.
The decree, issued last week, follows Traore’s December 2024 announcement of a broad amnesty for individuals prosecuted over the attempted coup against the transitional government that succeeded former President Blaise Compaoré.
The pardoned individuals include six officers—two of whom were former commanders of the disbanded presidential guard—as well as 15 non-commissioned officers and lower-ranking soldiers. They were convicted in 2019 by a military tribunal for charges including treason, murder, and harming state security.
However, two key figures behind the coup attempt, former Chief of Staff Gilbert Diendere and former Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole, remain excluded from the amnesty. Diendere and Bassole were sentenced to 20 and 10 years in prison, respectively.
According to the decree, those convicted have until June to request a pardon, provided they demonstrate “patriotic commitment to the reconquest of the territory” and express willingness to participate in the country’s fight against terrorism.
The 21 pardoned soldiers will be reinstated into the Burkinabe military, which has been battling jihadist insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State for over a decade. However, they will not receive compensation or career progression benefits.
The failed 2015 coup saw loyalist forces defeat an attempt to overthrow the transitional government, resulting in 14 deaths and 270 injuries. The justice ministry previously stated that around 1,200 people convicted in connection with the coup would be eligible for amnesty starting January 1, 2025.
