Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister told MPs on Tuesday that his government intends to recruit new civilian auxiliaries to the army to fight terrorism.
“Our ambition is to increase the number of VDPs (Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland) to one hundred thousand (100,000) and even more,” announced Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela, head of the transitional government.
This additional manpower is intended to ensure that “the population, at all times, is in a position to ensure their own security (…) even in the most remote corners of the country,” Mr. Kyelem de Tambela added.
In October 2022, the government launched the recruitment of 50,000 civilian auxiliaries to the army, 35,000 of whom would be local and 15,000 national. The Watch Brigade for the Defense of the Homeland (BVDP) reported last November that it had received applications from over 90,000 people.
The Prime Minister assured that they were provided with equipment after their training.
“Each soldier can have his own weapon and ammunition, as can each of the VDPs and the internal security forces. Endowments have begun and are underway. Not only has equipment been acquired, but it has been acquired at relatively low cost,” the head of government explained.
In February 2023, the army announced that priority would be given to recruiting Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDPs).
Burkina Faso, in the throes of a jihadist insurgency since 2015, is the African country most impacted by terrorism in 2022, according to the Global Terrorism Index. This situation is at the root of institutional instability that has led the country to two coups d’état in the same year.
DS/ac/fss/abj/APA