Thousands of people marched in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, to demand the expulsion of the French ambassador.
The Pan-African Leaders Collective, a political coalition that includes organizations that support Captain Ibrahim Traore, who has been in power since the end of September, called for the protest.
The attendees demand the departure of the 400 French special forces deployed there.
“Both the French ambassador and the Kamboinsin soldiers should come home, according to everyone. One of the protesters, Abdoul Karim Sawadogo, yelled, “Let Burkina be set free.
Souleymane Sawadogo, a different demonstrator, goes further.
“We are Burkina Faso, a sovereign nation. Burkina Faso is an independent nation. Burkina Faso has made the decision to lead the fight alongside reliable allies (editor’s note: Russia). We have decided that we want to take the initiative in the war we are currently waging. And we believe that France is not the best partner to help us win the war “he declared.
After a coup in 2020 in the former French colony saw its rulers move closer to Russia, French troops left Mali last year.
Building stronger ties with Russia has become a top priority for Burkina Faso ever since the September coup last year.
