Traoré urges protesters to let ECOWAS delegation traveling to Burkina Faso work

Oct. 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Captain Ibrahim Traoré, leader of the coup perpetrated on Friday in Burkina Faso, has urged protesters to let the delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) traveling to the capital, Ouagadougou, work as part of its commitment to peace and stability in the country.

“It is with astonishment and regret that the president of the MPSR (Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration) notes the circulation of messages calling to prevent the proper development of this mission,” said the Burkinabe captain in a statement collected by the portal of burkina news 24.

The delegation will be headed by Suzi Carla Barbosa, Foreign Minister of Guinea Bissau and President of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers. It will also include Mahamadou Issoufou, former President of Niger and ECOWAS Mediator for Burkina Faso, and Omar Alieu Touray, Chairman of the ECOWAS Commission.

The visit of the mission, which was expected on Monday, comes after the day before new demonstrations against ECOWAS and against France were registered, which came to collapse, around 6:00 p.m. (local time), around the Lancaster hotel , former Ouaga 200 hotel.

The protesters have again carried banners with anti-French slogans and also carried Russian flags, an image that has been repeated since a dissident faction of the Burkinabe Army forced the resignation of the leader of the junta and transitional president of the country, Paul- Henri Sandaogo Damiba on Friday.

The protests in favor of Captain Traoré have put the focus on the role of Russia, since the protesters ask for a greater involvement of Moscow to the detriment of France, calling to imitate the role that the country has in Mali.

The Russian Wagner Group has sent mercenaries to several African countries in recent years –including Libya and the Central African Republic (CAR)–, which has raised suspicions about Moscow’s involvement in various conflicts on the continent.

In fact, the Russian businessman Yevgeni Prigozhin, considered the leader of the Wagner Group, has welcomed the mandate of Captain Traoré and has indicated his “support” for the country’s new strong man, who “fights for freedom and justice” Burkina Faso, as reported on Tuesday by Radio France Internationale (RFI).