The transitional government has recruited 50,000 volunteers, who are armed civilian auxiliaries of the Defense and Security Forces to defend the country against terrorist groups.Captain Ibrahim Traore, a warlord in Burkinabe army uniform, went last weekend in great secrecy to one of the training centers for the handling of weapons for the volunteers. 

This was made public on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.

“We are going to fight, we are going to defend ourselves and we are not going to do this passive defense anymore because we are going to attack… You will fight with us in the ranks of the army and we will liberate our lands, we will give hope of life to these affected populations,” the head of the transition said, adding that they will be equipped with war materials to face the enemy.

For him, the army’s civilian auxiliaries are an integral part of the strategy to fight jihadist groups. 

He said he was convinced that with their mobilization, the people will win. 

According to Captain Traore, this is a historic moment and the struggle will go down in the country’s history.

“You will go (to the front) and you will return very often to the rear to recount your battles, to recount your exploits and at some point in history, you will be able to say to your children at such and such a time, there was this and we rose up and we defended the land on which you live today” he explained.

That is why Captain Traore called on the “new recruits” to get rid of those who “are tugging at the ethnic heartstrings in the hope of an ethnic war. This does not exist and will not exist in Burkina Faso.” 

He added: “You are the hope and do not let yourselves be demoralized by stateless people who are there to discourage this patriotic impulse”.

After taking power in September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traore launched the recruitment of 50,000 volunteers, 15,000 of whom are national volunteers and 35,000 in the communes. 

According to our information, the training of national VDPs has begun, in stages, in several training centers since December 2022.

According to several analysts, they will fill the manpower gap in the army, which is struggling to cope with the jihadist groups that have been active in the country since 2015.