Sankara’s legacy fuels Burkina Faso’s new revolution amid rising violence

Burkina Faso’s memorial to Thomas Sankara, the assassinated revolutionary leader, has become a rallying point for a new wave of Pan-Africanism.
Young junta leaders like Captain Ibrahim Traore, who mirrors Sankara’s iconic beret and rhetoric, are seizing power across West Africa, rejecting Western influence.
Yet Traore’s regime, backed by Russian mercenaries, struggles as Al Qaeda-linked militants seize half the country (an area France-sized), including the ravaged town of Djibo where 200 soldiers died.
While state-aligned militias target ethnic Fulanis, Traoré’s social media-savvy supporters frame him as Sankara’s heir, despite critics accusing Moscow of orchestrating this narrative.
Senegal’s prime minister warns the violence could spread, revealing a region torn between revolution and collapse. Behind the Pan-African symbolism, Burkina Faso teeters on the brink.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reports.

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Post from Al Jazeera on May 18, 2025

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