The Burkinabe army has launched the recruitment of civilian auxiliaries to fight terrorism.
Captain Ibrahim Traore, officially invested as President of the Transition, is putting in place his strategy to fight against non-state armed groups.
The country has launched the recruitment of 15,000 Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), in a statement signed on Monday October 24, 2022, by the commander of the Vigilance Brigade for Patriotic Defence (BVDP), Colonel Boukari Zoungrana.
This recruitment is part of “the popular mobilization of defense of the national territory against terrorism,” said the note consulted by APAnews.
Candidates must be Burkinabe, “patriotic of good character” and be 18 years old or more. They must also apply before November 4. The new recruits “will take part in military operations in the national theatre,” said Colonel Zoungrana.
The announcement comes less than 10 days after the launch of the recruitment of 3,000 rank and file soldiers for the national armed forces.
An officer told APAnews that this recruitment campaign is part of Captain Ibrahim Traore’s new strategy to fight terrorism. This is refined around the special anti-terrorist force (FORSAT), based on a remobilization of all fighting forces, including volunteers. “They will now be better trained (2 to 4 weeks of military training), better equipped, better organised and better paid,” he said.
Last Friday, President Traoré received the military command at the Prime Minister’s Office, his headquarters, to whom he shared his new vision for the fight against armed terrorist groups.
The VDP were created in November 2019, by President Roch Kaboré, in a context of increasing terrorist attacks. In September 2022, the law creating the auxiliaries of the defence forces was amended to better address their concerns.
Since 2015, Burkina has been facing a terrorist insurgency, which has caused thousands of casualties and displaced nearly 2 million people.
DS/ac/lb/abj/APA