By Zuri Omer
This past week, protesters across the world mobilised in defence of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the interim president of Burkina Faso, whose firm stance against Western interference has placed him at the centre of a growing movement for African sovereignty. From the heart of West Africa to the streets of London, people gathered to oppose imperialist meddling and to express solidarity with Traoré’s vision of a self-determined Burkina Faso and Sahel region.
In London, hundreds assembled outside key government buildings and embassies to voice their support for the people of Burkina Faso and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Activists chanted “Hands off Africa!” and held signs reading “Support Traoré” and “Down with Neo-colonialism”. Organised with input from Pan-African networks, diaspora communities and anti-imperialist groups, the demonstration struck a tone of fierce defiance against the UK’s and NATO’s continued economic and military interference in Africa.
Solidarity demonstrations were also reported in Paris and New York. And in West Africa.
In Burkina Faso, thousands rallied in Ouagadougou and other cities, voicing support for Traoré’s expulsion of French troops and his plans to nationalise the country’s gold wealth. Demonstrations also took place in Liberia and Ghana.
In Ghana, the Socialist Movement of Ghana joined Burkinabe nationals in Accra in organising a march. They stated that “under Captain Traoré, Burkina Faso has become a symbol of African dignity and resistance.”
The wave of international solidarity follows the Burkinabe government’s announcement on 20 April that it had foiled a coup attempt against Traoré’s administration. Authorities accused foreign-backed actors of trying to destabilise the country, just months after Burkina Faso officially withdrew from ECOWAS, alongside Mali and Niger. These developments have only reinforced popular suspicions across Africa and the diaspora that Western powers are actively attempting to remove Traoré through covert and subversive means.
The mass actions were further intensified by accusations from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) General Michael Langley, a Black American officer, who accused Traoré of “diverting gold reserves” for his own personal use.
The irony was not lost on protesters.
Many pointed out that General Langley’s deployment as the public face of AFRICOM was no accident. Rather, it represents a calculated strategy by the U.S. empire to obscure its agenda behind the image of racial diversity, a tactic that has become familiar across institutions in the West.
The truth, that imperialism is not just about who pulls the trigger, but who benefits, resonated deeply with younger attendees at the protest in London, many of whom drew connections between the systemic racial violence they face in Britain and the militarised extraction of Africa’s resources.
At the heart of the protests is a broader demand: that Africa be allowed to shape its own future, free from economic blackmail, foreign militaries and puppet governments. Captain Ibrahim Traoré, for all the Western smears against him, has become a symbol of this aspiration, not only for people in Burkina Faso, but across the Global South and diaspora.
Many demonstrators pointed to the parallels between current efforts to undermine Traoré and the Western-led regime change war in Libya that ended in the brutal assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. For Black people in Africa and across the diaspora, these repeated attacks on independent African leaders are not isolated events, but part of a broader pattern of neo-colonial domination dressed up as diplomacy or humanitarian intervention.
As long as AFRICOM operates from dozens of bases across the continent, as long as France, Britain and the U.S. continue to loot resources under the guise of ‘security’ and ‘development’, and as long as Black leaders like Traoré are targeted for trying to build an independent path, resistance will continue to grow.
From London to Ouagadougou, the message is clear: Hands off Traoré, Hands off the Sahel, Get out of Africa!
Image: Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Transition President of Burkina Faso, during a meeting in Ouagadougou with a delegation from the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, in charge of an assessment mission about the politicial transition in the country; Photo by Lamine Traoré / VOA – Voice of America; Photo is in the public domain.