People of Burkina Faso should forget about democracy, says military ruler

April 3, 2026

TL;DR

Burkina Faso's military president, Ibrahim Traoré, stated that democracy is not for his country.
Traoré took power in a September 2022 coup and has since banned political parties.
The transition to democracy originally planned for 2024 has been extended to 2029.
Traoré described democracy as 'false' and linked it to violence, bombings, destruction of hospitals, and civilian deaths.
He invoked the legacy of Thomas Sankara, a former Burkinabé leader.
The country is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that has caused thousands of deaths and displaced millions.
Human Rights Watch reported that over 1,800 civilians were killed by the military, allied militias, and JNIM since 2023.
HRW accused all sides of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes, alleging ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians by the junta and allied militias.
The government denied HRW's accusations and banned the organization and several international media outlets.

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