Latest news with #IbrahimTraore
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Russia signs nuclear energy deal with African state
Russia and Burkina Faso have formalized a deal to expand peaceful nuclear energy cooperation, including joint projects in radiation technologies and the training of specialists from the West African country. The agreement was signed on Thursday by Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, and Burkina Faso's Energy Minister Yacouba Zabré Gouba on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). 'The signing of this Agreement marks an important milestone in strengthening the partnership between Russia and Burkina Faso,' Likhachev stated, according to a Rosatom press release. 'We are ready to provide advanced technologies and expert support to implement joint projects aimed at sustainable development and enhancing the region's energy security,' he added. According to the statement, the new pact builds on a roadmap signed in March last year between Rosatom and Burkina Faso's Ministry of Energy during the ATOMEXPO forum in Sochi. Key areas of cooperation outlined in the document include the development of Burkina Faso's nuclear infrastructure in line with international standards, regulation of nuclear and radiation safety, and the use of radioisotopes in industry, medicine, and agriculture. Moscow and Ouagadougou have been engaged in nuclear cooperation since 2023, following a request by Burkina Faso's interim leader, Ibrahim Traore, to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the second Russia–Africa Summit in St. Petersburg. Last year, Rosatom representatives visited Burkina Faso to discuss plans for constructing a nuclear power plant in one of the world's least electrified countries. The Sahel state had earlier signed an agreement with the Russian firm in October 2024 to build the facility. NovaWind – the wind energy division of Rosatom – is also working with the government of neighboring Mali to build a 200-megawatt (MW) solar power plant near the capital, Bamako. Last year, NovaWind's director, Grigory Nazarov, said the $217 million facility would boost the country's electricity production by 10%. Apart from striking its latest deal on peaceful nuclear cooperation with Burkina Faso, Moscow also announced last week the approval of similar agreements with Mali, which have yet to be formalized.
Russia Today
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Imperialists trying to break up Sahel confederation
Burkina Faso's interim president, Captain Ibrahim Traore has accused foreign powers of attempting to sabotage the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) by pressuring member countries to betray the others. Speaking during a national flag-raising ceremony on Monday, the leader claimed the AES remains a 'source of concern' for imperialist actors, the Burkina Faso Information Agency reported. 'We are approached every day by imperialists who want to force one of the three states to betray the others,' Traore said. 'We've been dealing with this for a long time. Each time, it's a maneuver to convince a state to leave the Confederation. And this should make us think,' he added. The AES was formally established in September 2023 by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger as a mutual defense and cooperation pact following the expulsion of French troops from the respective members. The three military-led states have since withdrawn from the West African bloc ECOWAS, denouncing it as a tool for French neocolonial influence and a threat to their sovereignty. The AES has positioned itself as a counterweight to Western influence in the Sahel region, particularly France's post-colonial footprint. The group has also suspended military ties with former European partners, pivoting instead toward increased cooperation with Russia and other non-Western allies. In recent weeks, officials in Ouagadougou and Niamey have also accused France and Ukraine of sponsoring terrorism to weaken the Sahel military governments. Late last month, Niger's transitional leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, accused French operatives of collaborating with rebel factions along border regions in neighboring Benin and Nigeria as part of a coordinated plot to destabilize his country and the wider Sahel. Ukraine has also been implicated for allegedly doing the 'dirty work' of Western powers by training and supplying weapons to insurgents behind more than a decade of jihadist violence in Mali. On Monday, Burkinabe President Traore warned that the West's efforts to destabilize the region are driven by a hunger for the Sahel's vast and untapped natural wealth. 'We must be fully aware of this and continue to fight. We must not feel sorry for ourselves,' he said.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
With Security Unraveling, Burkina Faso's Traore Is Getting Desperate
In early May, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, launched a series of large-scale, coordinated attacks in the north and east of Burkina Faso, highlighting the deteriorating security situation in the country since Capt. Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup in September 2022. Traore opted for a militarized approach to the Islamist insurgency that has bedeviled Burkina Faso since 2015, believing he could drive JNIM back by force alone. But his counterinsurgency strategy has only deepened the crisis and fueled ethnic hatred, even as he has begun to repress all critical voices and anyone he perceives as a threat—including within the army—to an unprecedented level. The focus of JNIM's most recent attacks was Djibo, the major city in northern Burkina Faso that is home to 300,000, many of them internally displaced people from nearby villages. For the past several years, the city has been under a blockade by the al-Qaida-affiliated group, which controls the surrounding countryside. On May 11, motorcycle-riding assailants overwhelmed government security forces, seizing the city's military camp and looting numerous weapons stored there, including pickup trucks mounted with machine guns. They also targeted the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, or VDP, a state-backed pro-government militia, with at least a hundred people reportedly killed in total. Simultaneously, JNIM attacked other nearby locations, and the following day the group struck in the east of the country, where it briefly occupied the town of Diapaga. Though present in all three countries of the central Sahel—Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger—JNIM sees Burkina Faso as the 'weak link' and has concentrated its efforts there. As such, it has controlled large swathes of Burkinabe territory for years, particularly in the north and east, with just one-third of the national territory estimated to be under government control. But until now, the group had largely adopted a guerrilla warfare approach, operating in rural areas that the state and army struggle to administer. These most recent attacks on urban centers are alarming both for their unprecedented scale and for potentially signaling a shift in the group's strategy. 'If the Burkinabe authorities fail to regain the initiative against JNIM, we may unfortunately see some secondary cities fall under its control,' says Mathieu Pellerin, Sahel analyst at the International Crisis Group. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. Tanguy Quidelleur, a researcher at the Sorbonne University, is similarly concerned about JNIM tightening its presence around the capital, Ouagadougou, and the country's second-largest city, Bobo-Dioulasso. But although the group appears to be on the offensive and seizing the initiative, Quidelleur is not convinced it has the ambition and the capacity to hold cities, due to its roots as a rural insurgency. 'Taking a city means handling public services like water and electricity, which is complex,' he explains. 'They lack the administrative or political structures to manage urban zones unless they co-opt others.' Whether or not that is the case, Traore's handling of the security situation since seizing power has played into JNIM's hands. First, he abandoned the community dialogue initiatives pursued by previous governments, which aimed to demobilize some of the insurgents, in favor of an exclusively military approach. But, as Pellerin pointed out, 'a military solution alone cannot solve a problem rooted in a sociopolitical and socioeconomic context that drives many citizens to take up arms.' Worse still, Traore is relying on an army that is incapable of delivering results, in part due to severe logistical weaknesses. When units are attacked, reinforcements arrive late, if at all, and ground troops lack air support. Meanwhile, JNIM strengthens its position by looting substantial war spoils, including weapons, ammunition and vehicles, as in Djibo. Besides its disastrous results on the ground, Traore's strategy has further undermined security by increasing civilian exposure to jihadist attacks. While civilians have been vulnerable since the beginning of the conflict, that increased with the creation of the VDP in 2020 and even more so with the militia's nationwide expansion under Traore. As Quidelleur explained, 'Jihadists are increasingly targeting civilians, whom they accuse of supplying men to the VDP.' Both the Burkinabe and the VDP are also guilty of serious abuses against civilians that disproportionately target the Fulani ethnic group from which JNIM recruits a large portion of its fighters. The most recent massacre took place in March near Solenzo, in the west of the country. According to Human Rights Watch, the army and the VDP killed at least 130 Fulani civilians, including women, the elderly and children. Such massacres fuel the vicious cycle of conflict by pushing young Fulani men to join JNIM to protect themselves and take revenge against the state. In short, civilians are caught between jihadists and state forces supported by the VDP, forcing more and more people to flee their villages. Today, there are an estimated 3 million internally displaced people in a country with a population of about 23 million, resulting in a catastrophic humanitarian situation. A Burkinabe analyst who spoke on the condition of anonymity is deeply concerned about the broader societal impact of the war, particularly with regard to the demonization of the Fulani as terrorists. 'The discourse is becoming more uninhibited, with increasing calls for massacres,' this person said. 'Those who commit abuses film themselves eagerly, post on social media, and no one is shocked.' War, the analyst added, is transforming Burkinabe society, making it 'more violent,' even as 'ethnic hatred is growing.' The military collapse is also fueling discontent within the armed forces, with many officers reportedly at odds with how Traore is handling the war. Some observers believe another coup is possible, and the government seems to agree. On April 21, it denounced a 'major conspiracy' and arrested several officers. The army is fractured, and Traore is aware of it. Upon taking power, he restructured the armed forces and created Rapid Intervention Battalions, or BIR, to fight JNIM—but also to prevent a coup. And in October 2023, he dismissed the chief of staff of the gendarmerie, Lt. Col. Evrard Somda, who was then arrested in January 2024. 'Traore believed Somda posed a threat to him because he is a highly competent and respected officer, and the gendarmerie is a well-trained, effective and sizable force,' notes the Burkinabe analyst. 'The question now,' says Pellerin, 'is: Who among the BIR and other 'secret' units that Traoré created remain loyal to him? It's hard to know for sure, but recent arrests and instances of orders being refused suggest his control of the very apparatus he built is challenged.' Fearing another coup, Traore is now cracking down on any form of opposition or perceived threat to an extent never seen in Burkina Faso. Numerous politicians, journalists and human rights defenders have been imprisoned. Some have even been conscripted by the army as a form of punishment and humiliation, including Ablasse Ouedraogo, a former foreign minister who was forcibly enlisted despite being 70 years old. But the repression is now even targeting high-ranking regime figures. Several judges were conscripted in August 2024 after initiating legal proceedings against Traore supporters. And in an almost unthinkable move, the brother of the Mogho Naba—the king of the Mossi people, a traditional authority who plays a significant role in the country—was abducted on April 30, just days after the government claimed to have foiled a coup attempt. Reportedly, Traore had asked the Mogho Naba to mediate—a role he often assumes in such situations—but the king refused. The security minister accused traditional leaders of being involved in the coup plot. 'Many safeguards have been dismantled,' said the Burkinabe analyst, expressing grave concern. 'If judges, a chief of staff and the brother of the Mogho Naba can be arrested, it means no one is safe. And there's no one left to oppose Traore.' In short, the more pressure JNIM applies, the more divisions within the junta and Burkinabe society deepen—and the more Traore lashes out at anyone perceived as a threat. There is little hope for improvement as long as Traore remains in power. Tangi Bihan is a journalist based in Guinea, where he is a correspondent for Radio France Internationale (RFI). He writes also for Afrique XXI and Le Monde diplomatique. The post With Security Unraveling, Burkina Faso's Traore Is Getting Desperate appeared first on World Politics Review.
Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Burkina Faso's latest TikTok star? Its president — thanks to Putin
Miraculously freed from his 31-year prison term, the American R&B singer R Kelly sits at a piano, tears in his eyes as he croons: 'Bullets fly but he don't fall, walkin' through the fire still answering the call … God protect Ibrahim Traore, protect Burkina Faso.' In the video, images flash of Traore fighting terrorists, treating wounded soldiers and praying. The 37-year-old leader of Burkina Faso is unmistakable, rarely seen without his sidearm and red beret that makes him look like Thomas Sankara, the Marxist revolutionary and Burkinabe leader of the 1980s. To even a barely trained eye, however, the video — which has racked up two million views on YouTube since May 3 — is fake, a creation of artificial intelligence and a good
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rising African star is Kremlin-backed revolutionary capitalising on anti-West sentiment
When Capt Ibrahim Traore met Vladimir Putin across a broad Kremlin table last week, many in Russia or indeed Europe may have been unaware who this charismatic young visitor in a red beret and battle dress was. In swathes of Africa however, with help from Russia, his face and name have recently been unavoidable, particularly on social media. The youngest leader on the continent after a 2022 coup brought him to power in Burkina Faso, he is seen by many disillusioned youth as a messianic figure following in a line of African revolutionaries. His message of self-reliance and independence from the West, particularly from France, the former colonial ruler, has resonated with frustrated young people across Africa looking for political saviours. At the age of 37, Mr Traore is also a far cry from the continental caricature of a doddering octogenarian ruling over a population where the average age is still in the teens. Some even see him as a reincarnation of Thomas Sankara, the Burkinabe Marxist and pan-Africanist revolutionary who ruled for four years in the 1980s. Yet analysts and diplomats say while his burgeoning reputation is rooted in genuine disillusion with Africa's leadership and his desire for more equal relations with the West, it is also allegedly being expertly boosted and burnished by a Russian disinformation campaign. The barrage of propaganda is aimed at building him up as an anti-Western icon and at distracting attention from Burkina Faso's dire security situation, which neither Mr Traore, nor his Russian backers have been able to fix. His personality cult has in recent weeks been pushed into overdrive by a deluge of social media propaganda, often misleading, portraying him as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country's dignity. This potent online myth-making has secured his place as a pan-African hero for many who contrast his vigour with the shortcomings of their own leaders. 'The rise of Traore is certainly making a lot of African leaders very uncomfortable,' says Ryan Cummings, a director of Signal Risk. Mr Traore took power after a 2022 putsch capitalised on popular anger at the failure to deal with a bloody Islamist insurgency. His junta quickly pivoted to kick out French troops and embrace Russia, alongside Mali and later Niger, creating a belt of pro-Kremlin military governments in the Sahel. Moscow has agreed to provide mercenaries, arms and expertise, in return for access to the region's natural resources, notably gold. Among the advantages of being aligned with Russia, is also access to the Kremlin's disinformation expertise, which has seemingly been put at the service of building Mr Traore into an African icon. Widely shared posts have made misleading claims such as he has paid off the country's sovereign debt, that there are mass marches in the West in support of the Sahelian regimes, that Donald Trump has paid homage to Mr Traore's leadership, or that Burkina Faso has independently developed Africa's first electric cars. In some of the most audacious propaganda released earlier this month, deepfake AI videos purportedly show stars including Beyonce and Rihanna singing anthems in his honour. One ballad appears to show the Crazy in Love singer urging God to protect Mr Traore and relating how he 'kicked out the soldiers from the old regime,' and 'told the West we reclaim the dream'. Credit: @LilR3Vi / YouTube 'The propaganda is utterly overwhelming and, while it's sometimes organic, the vast majority of it is intimately tied to Russia and potentially several of Moscow's Latin American allies,' says Will Brown of the European Council on Foreign Relations. 'The object is pretty clear – it's an anti-Western, anti-democratic agenda which glorifies strong man military leadership among a core base of disaffected youth. 'I think it's also increasingly about spreading anti-Western sentiment and hostile information through African diaspora populations.' The military ruler has quickly become an icon beyond Burkina Faso's borders, used to chastise other leaders. Last month, Hilda Dokubo, a Nigerian actress and politician, said: 'Ibrahim Traore is all the proof Nigerians need to know that a country takes the shape of its leadership and that Nigeria is where it is because of the wickedness of her leaders.' Yet the sheen of Mr Traore's image contrasts with the reality of his junta and the terrible security conditions in the country. Despite his pledge to tighten security, his forces are estimated to control as little as 35 per cent of the country, with jihadist groups like Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) besieging towns. Data from the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project show that while 2,894 people were killed by both government and armed groups during the year before the 2022 coup. That number has reached 7,200 in the last year. His regime is accused of abuses against civilians and cracking down on the media. Militants launched a string of attacks on May 11 as Mr Traore made his way back from his meeting with Putin. JNIM, a West African affiliate of al-Qaeda, said it had overrun an army base in the northern town of Djibo. It was impossible to verify claims that 200 soldiers had been killed, but satellite pictures showed widespread damage. His military weakness may ultimately make him vulnerable to another coup and may be the reason Russia is making so much effort to build up his image. Mr Cummings said: 'Traore is being propped up because he is the most vulnerable [of the Sahel junta leaders] to being overthrown.' For all his anti-colonial rhetoric, he may also have traded one domineering partner for another. He said: 'Preferential treatment that was being given to France is now just being given to Russia.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
