Ibrahim Traoré’s Unexpected Rise to Power

In September 2022, Burkina Faso suffered its second coup in less than nine months. Then 34-year-old army captain, Ibrahim Traore, seized power, ousting Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, who led a coup in January of that year, toppling former President Roch Kabore. Justifying why they were removing Damiba from office, Traore said in a televised address on October 1, 2022 that the embattled head of state had failed to tackle the perennial problem of insurgency that has been hitting Burkina Faso in recent years. When he was named as the leader of the coup plotters, certain observers pointed out his resemblance to Thomas Sankara. In addition to the red beret, Ibrahim Traoré –has several points in common with the national icon: both are captains, both came to power at the age of 34, and both are perpetrators of a coup against the military, which had itself come to power by force eight months earlier… ************************************************************************** Music: John Stockton Slow Drag by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Source: Artist: ************************************************************************** Sources: \ ****************************************************************** #burkinafaso #ibrahimtraoré