Burkina Faso’s transitional government on Saturday called for «calm and restraint» following Friday’s massive protest in which hundreds of young people took to the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou, to demand the departure of the French diplomatic mission from the country.
The protesters rallied at the municipal stadium in the morning before heading to the French embassy, where they were dispersed by police tear gas, according to ‘Le Faso’. Many of the demonstrators carried flags of Russia, a country allied with the Burkinabe military junta through the Wagner mercenary group.
Burkina Faso, which is actually under the rule of a military coup junta, has generally experienced a significant increase in insecurity since 2015, with attacks by both Al Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates, leading to a wave of internally displaced persons and refugees to other countries in the region.
The leader of the Sept. 30 assault, Ibrahim Traoré, stressed on Monday that «Russia is a state like any other,» amid speculation of possible increased Russian involvement in the African country and rising anti-French sentiment in Burkina Faso and other nations in the region.
In a statement issued Saturday, the government calls for the relaxation of these protests «at the risk of plunging our country into a cycle of endless demonstrations, to the detriment of our objectives of peace, stability and security, sought for our peoples.»
In particular, it «invites young people not to be distracted and to concentrate on the objectives of defense in the total war we are waging against terrorism.»
Finally, the authorities ask the Burkinabe people to maintain «confidence» and assure «national and international opinion» that «they will not deviate from the rules and principles of protection of diplomats and diplomatic representations present on Burkinabe soil».
