{"id":4877,"date":"2025-01-17T11:06:28","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T11:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/?p=4877"},"modified":"2025-12-10T12:44:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:44:43","slug":"colonel-major-gabriel-some-key-figure-in-burkina-fasos-military-juntas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/colonel-major-gabriel-some-key-figure-in-burkina-fasos-military-juntas\/","title":{"rendered":"Colonel Major Gabriel Som\u00e9: Key Figure in Burkina Faso&#8217;s Military Juntas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"3\"><b>Colonel Major Gabriel Som\u00e9<\/b> is a high-ranking officer in the Burkinab\u00e8 Armed Forces who has played a critical, though largely behind-the-scenes, role in the sequence of military takeovers that have defined Burkina Faso&#8217;s turbulent political landscape since 2022.<\/p><div class=\"03bb5c02e2f58c6bb7f372bc13011e34\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size:10px;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8677361123316975\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ZXZ -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8677361123316975\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3054782407\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br><br \/>\n<\/div>\n\n<hr data-path-to-node=\"4\" \/>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"5\">Key Biographical Information<\/h3>\n<table data-path-to-node=\"6\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Detail<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Information<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0,0\"><b>Full Name<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,1,1,0\">Gabriel Som\u00e9<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0,0\"><b>Nationality<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,2,1,0\">Burkinab\u00e8<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,3,0,0\"><b>Highest Rank<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,3,1,0\">Colonel Major<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,4,0,0\"><b>Key Position<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,4,1,0\">Chief of Staff of the Army (Former); Key member of the <b>Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR)<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,5,0,0\"><b>Role in 2022 Coups<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,5,1,0\">Instrumental military leader under the transition governments<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,6,0,0\"><b>Military Background<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"6,6,1,0\">Infantry Officer; Extensive experience in counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr data-path-to-node=\"7\" \/>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"8\">Military Career and Counter-Terrorism<\/h3>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"9\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,0,0\"><b>Infantry Officer:<\/b> Colonel Major Som\u00e9 is a senior infantry officer with a long career in the Burkinab\u00e8 Armed Forces. His experience includes commanding various battalions and being heavily involved in the nation&#8217;s struggle against escalating jihadist insurgency in the North and East.<\/p><div class=\"03bb5c02e2f58c6bb7f372bc13011e34\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size:10px;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8677361123316975\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ZXZ -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8677361123316975\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3054782407\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br><br \/>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,1,0\"><b>Chief of Staff:<\/b> Prior to the initial 2022 coup, he held prominent military positions, serving at one point as the <b>Chief of Staff of the Army<\/b> and commanding one of the vital military regions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"10\"><\/h3>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"10\">Role in the 2022 Coups<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11\">Gabriel Som\u00e9 was not the public face of either coup in 2022, but he was a critical figure in the military structure that backed both transitional governments.<\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"12\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\"><b>Under Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba:<\/b> After the January 2022 coup that overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kabor\u00e9, Colonel Major Som\u00e9 was appointed to high-level security positions within the resulting junta, the <b>MPSR (Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration)<\/b>, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,1,0\"><b>Under Ibrahim Traor\u00e9:<\/b> When Captain Ibrahim Traor\u00e9 led the second coup in September 2022, overthrowing Damiba, Som\u00e9 was one of the officers who publicly <b>rallied support for the new junta<\/b> led by Traor\u00e9. This demonstrated his pragmatic approach and his centrality to the continued functioning of the military leadership, regardless of which group was nominally in charge.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\"><b>Senior Influence:<\/b> He has remained a powerful and influential figure, often seen as representing the seniority and institutional experience within an army now led by younger officers like Captain Traor\u00e9.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"13\"><\/h3>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"13\">Political Stance and Current Situation<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"14\">Colonel Major Som\u00e9, like the other military leaders in the MPSR, is fundamentally committed to securing Burkina Faso against the ongoing terrorist threats. His public statements consistently align with the junta&#8217;s focus on <b>national sovereignty, anti-imperialism, and the war against terror<\/b>. While he holds a powerful position, he is not the public figurehead of the transition, preferring to exert his influence within the military and security apparatus.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colonel Major Gabriel Som\u00e9 is a high-ranking officer in the Burkinab\u00e8 Armed Forces who has played a critical, though largely [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-offbeat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4878,"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4877\/revisions\/4878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xeroltha.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}