The interim leader of Burkina Faso has made changes to the leadership of the country’s paramilitary police, just over a week after the ruling junta claimed to have foiled a coup attempt.
Ibrahim Traoré, on Wednesday, appointed Lt Col Kouagri Natama to replace Lt Col Evrard Somda, who had been in charge of the national gendarmerie since the previous year.
Additionally, Mr. Traoré has also made alterations to the personnel responsible for logistics and equipment management within both the Burkinabe army and the gendarmerie.
In the preceding week, the junta in Burkina Faso detained four police officers on suspicion of involvement in a “plot against state security.”
According to the French-language news outlet Jeune Afrique, two of the detained police officers served under the national gendarmerie and had close ties to Mr. Somda.
Natama, the new appointee, previously held the position of police chief in the northern Kaya region, where Mr. Traore’s unit was stationed.