The second coup in this year occurred in the insurgency-ravaged West African country, further destabilising Burkina Faso.
Last Friday morning, there were many explosions and gunshots heard in the capital, Ouagadougou, before the state television was cut off.
The second military takeover of this year was consistent with the spread of insurgency in Western and Central Africa. Numerous civilian deaths caused by recent military insurgencies in the Sahel region have weakened elected and other types of governments.
Captain Ibrahim Traore, who also made an appearance on television with his soldiers, is the leader of the new military regime in Burkina Faso, which overthrew the regime that took office in January. Due to Damiba’s inability to combat militants attacks, Traore announced the end of the Damiba administration.
Below are ten things to know about the new Military Ruler:
- Ibrahim Traoré was born around 1988. He studied at the University of Ouagadougou where he was part of the Association of Muslim Students.
- He joined the army of Burkina Faso in 2010, and was promoted to captain in 2020.
- His association with the “Cobra” special forces, a counterterrorist unit founded in 2019, was disputed.
- Traoré was part of the group of army officers that supported the January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d’état and brought the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration military junta to power.
- He served as head of a military unit in Kaya, a town in Burkina Faso’s north, either as part of the “Cobras” or an artillery unit.
- He was one of many younger officers who fought against the rebels at the frontlines during the insurgency in Burkina Faso.
- Traore declared himself the new head of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration.
- Traoré, 34, began his military career in 2009 and has served in various contingents in Burkina Faso’s volatile eastern and northern theatres.
- Traoré is the region’s youngest leader and a battle-hardened soldier who had become increasingly critical of his predecessor’s “unsuccessful strategies” against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda militants.
- His primary education was traced to the town of Bondokuy, in the Mohoun province, in the country’s south.
