Demonstrators March, Picket Western Embassies in Ouagadougou, Accra, London, Paris in Support of Ibrahim Traoré

Streets in Central London, Accra, Paris, Kingston, Ouagadougou and other cities across the world were filled with demonstrators yesterday, marching in solidarity with Captain Ibrahim Traoré, President of Burkina Faso. The coordinated demonstrations were part of a global day of support for Traoré’s Pan-Africanist and anti-imperialist governance.

Protesters marching in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Namibia, Somalia, Kenya, Jamaica, Ghana, Great Britain and France among other countries held placards denouncing neo-colonial interference.

Traoré, hailed by many as a revolutionary leader and the symbol of a new Pan-African era, recently declared that Burkina Faso is waging a “war of independence,” not merely a fight against terrorism. During a speech in Ziniaré at the opening of a cement plant, he denounced what he called “imperialist logic” and called on citizens to rally behind the goal of national sovereignty.

The demonstrations were sparked, in part, by controversial statements made by AFRICOM Commander Michael Langley during a recent Senate hearing. Langley’s remarks about Burkina Faso’s governance were widely criticised as misleading and dismissive. The backlash has since fueled a global surge of support for Traoré and his anti-imperialist mission.

Traoré’s vision for national sovereignty is shared by the Confederation of Sahel States (CSS) — a new regional bloc formed by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger – as their main objective. He has previously stated that despite its exit from ECOWAS, the CSS is open to all African nations committed to independence, sovereignty, and total liberation from foreign domination.

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Oluwasegun Sanusi

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