Ibrahim Traore, the 38-year-old captain who heads Burkina Faso's military government (which seized power in a coup in September 2022), has publicly warned that he will tolerate no challengers to his authority, declaring "there can't be two captains on one ship" at a gathering in the northern city of Ouahigouya. His remarks come amid persistent rumours of internal discord, fuelled by the prolonged public absence since May of his second- and third-in-command — intelligence chief Oumarou Yabre and junta spokesperson Farouk Azaria Sorgho — with security officials alleging Sorgho may have been detained by Traore loyalists. The episode signals growing tension within the junta at a time when security in the capital, Ouagadougou, has visibly tightened around the presidential palace.