Military leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré has led Burkina Faso since 2022, following a coup. Photo: BBC
Burkina Faso’s ruling junta has suspended the country’s largest student union and arrested its leader, official sources said on Wednesday – the latest round in a crackdown by the military authorities on independent organisations.
The General Union of Students of Burkina (Ugeb) was suspended for three months for “advocating terrorism” by a decree from the minister for territorial administration.
The junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, seized power in a 2022 coup and has pursued a hardline policy against dissenting voices, dissolving or suspending nearly 1,000 independent organisations in recent weeks.
The move against Ugeb comes after the union last week denounced “violations of democratic, trade union, and political freedoms” and complained about citizens being abducted, detained and held in secret.
