Burkina Faso marks 65th independence anniversary, leader calls for renewed liberation effort

On 5 August 2026 Burkina Faso commemorated the 65th anniversary of its independence from France, originally proclaimed on 5 August 1960 when the colony of Upper Volta became a sovereign state. The ceremony recalled the 1983 revolution led by Thomas Sankara and the 1984 renaming of the country to Burkina Faso.

Transitional President Ibrahim Traoré, who took power after a September 2022 coup, used the occasion to urge all Burkinabè to “engage without reservation in the war of liberation,” echoing Sankara’s anti‑colonial stance and pledging to pursue sovereign, end‑ogenous development for the nation.