France, Sept. 30 -- On 30 September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup in Ouagadougou, promising to restore security as Burkina Faso struggled with a jihadist insurgency that had left large parts of the country beyond state control.

"We'll keep the torch of Burkina's renaissance burning," Traore has said, paying tribute to Sankara - who took over in 1983 - calling him the "nation's hero" and "compass".

Both men seized power as red beret-wearing young captains and promoted Pan-Africanism and national, economic and cultural autonomy and silenced dissent.

While Sankara had championed a "democratic" revolution, Traore openly asserts that the country is not a democracy.

Journalists, magistrates and civil society members ar...