Thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Burkina Faso in several large cities to support Captain Ibrahim Traoré and condemn the "destabilization desires" of the country, the leader of "The Movement of My Homeland Burkina Faso" Lucien Zie has said.
In Ouagadougou, floods of people responded to the call of the movement, which believes that in view of "the threats of destabilization and pressure that are planned against Burkina Faso," the people must mobilize "to show the world that they are in step with their president."
As in previous demonstrations, most people held Burkinabè and Russian flags.
"We see in Russia a nation that has endured hardships and emerged stronger. We want to emulate their spirit as we rebuild our own country. The flags serve as a reminder that we can overcome any obstacle if we stand united," one participant, Aissatou Sankara, told local media, reflecting on the popularity of Russian flags.
In the capital, demonstrators burned a French flag and that of the European Union while shouting their support of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power as a result of a coup on September 30, 2022, overthrowing the former leader, Paul-Henri Damiba, and vowing to deal with the growing jihadist threat in the country.
The country's relationship with Moscow has been in the spotlight recently following the withdrawal of French troops in February and the termination of a 2018 military cooperation agreement.
He added that Ouagadougou will continue this cooperation, noting that the friendly country is a major supplier of military equipment to Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso has been facing an increase in jihadist activities in recent months, in particular since the beginning of the year, with several dozen deaths of soldiers and civilians being reported. Against this backdrop, the country's interim leader Traore announced the government's goal to "reconquer" the territory occupied by terrorists and intensify the army's operations against them.