Burkina Faso: 93 student police non-commissioned officers struck off

A vehicle of the Burkinabe gendarmerie. (Ilustration). ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP

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In Burkina Faso, 93 gendarme non-commissioned officer students have just been struck off when they were in their second year of training. They had deserted their training center, refusing to undergo a walking exercise as part of their military training after a road accident that left one dead and many injured in their rank.

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From our correspondent in Ouagadougou, Yaya Boudani

The beginning of this affair dates back to the end of 2019. During their training, these student gendarme non-commissioned officers desert one of their site. During a walking exercise as part of their military training, their group was involved in a road accident. A tanker truck overturned on the track, killing a trainee and injuring twenty.

The survivors then decided not to continue the walking exercise on the grounds that it was very dangerous and posed major risks to their safety. They were deserting the site.

While the training continued, investigations were underway to understand the situation and locate responsibilities. After several months of investigation, 93 student non-commissioned officers recognized as leaders, instigators or elements who abandoned their posts were struck off the staff of the national school of non-commissioned officers of the gendarmerie as part of a disciplinary procedure . According to an officer, the behavior of these student non-commissioned officers constitutes a “  serious breach of discipline during training  ”.

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  • Burkina Faso
  • Defense