10 things to know about Traore, new Burkina Faso military ruler

Capt. Ibrahim Traore was declared the new military President of Burkina Faso on the 30th Sept 2022 in a coup that overthrew Lt. Col Paul- Henri Damiba.

Damiba was removed because he was unable to deal with the worsening situation bedevilling the country. This is the second coup in the space of nine month in Burkina Faso.

Traore was part of the group of Army Officers who overthrew a constitutionally elected government in January 2022. Here are 10 things to know about him:

· Ibrahim Traore was born in Bondokuy, Mouhoun Province, in 1988.

· He enrolled at the University of Ouagadougou in 2006 and graduated top of his class with a degree in fundamental and applied geology.

· He joined the Burkinabè armed forces in 2010 and was recruited for the 12th promotion of the Georges Namoano Military Academy in Pố, which houses the Commando training centre. After two years of training, he was assigned to the artillery regiment based in kaya in the Center-North region.

· Ibrahim Traore became a lieutenant in 2014 and was later promoted to a Captain in 2020.

· Captain Ibrahim Traore was appointed Chief of artillery of the 10th support by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

· Ibrahim Traore has fought on the front lines against Islamist militants in the north where some of them linked to the Islamist State group and Al-Qaeda.

· He was among the army officers who initially supported Damiba when he took power in his own coup in January, promising to defeat the Islamists

· . He overthrew his former comrade, Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba in a successful organised coup on 30th September, after accusing him to fulfil his promise of quelling the Islamist insurgency that gripped Burkina Faso since 2015.

· He became the President at 34, making him the youngest Head of State in Africa.

· Captain Ibrahim Traore is seen as the famous revolutionary Thomas Sankara, who became a military president as the age of 33.

Source: Thenationonlineng