The attempted coup was carried out against long-time strongman President Blaise Compaoré and his CDP regime, and resulted in the imprisonment of several members of the military and political dissidents.
The RSP's loyalty to Compaoré was doubtful, despite their service – in October 1996 several soldiers of the Regiment, among them the commander Hyacinthe Kafando, were put on trial for plotting to launch a coup, possibly with Ivorian involvement.
[1] On 7 October 2003, the alleged attempted coup – and its failure – was announced publicly by Abdoulaye Barry, a government prefect chairing the military court of the capital Ouagadougou.
The prosecutor general Abdoulaye Barry stated that Oualy had been in contact with foreign powers, meeting with government representatives in Côte d'Ivoire and Togo in September 2003.
[3] In November 2003, Burkina Faso's Foreign Minister Youssouf Ouédraogo stated to various diplomats that the coup had been intended to take place during a cabinet meeting, using weapons received from the Regiment of Presidential Security.