Burkina Faso: the Ministry of Defense launches a recruitment of thousands of soldiers
A patrol of members of the Burkinabè security forces (illustration image).
AFP PHOTO / SIA KAMBOU
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Scheduled for the month of June, the selection operation is finally brought back to the beginning of May.
The Burkinabè army faces armed groups which regularly carry out incursions into several regions of the country, sometimes attacking the positions of the security forces.
The bloodiest to date targeted a gendarmerie detachment in Inata, in the North, in November 2021, killing 53 people.
This new recruitment will therefore strengthen the ranks of the combat teams.
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With our correspondent in Ouagadougou,
Yaya Boudani
This recruitment concerns 3,000 rank and file soldiers.
In addition to the normal contingent of 2,000 soldiers, a thousand soldiers will be recruited on an exceptional basis, according to the Minister of Defence.
The selections will be made in each capital of the thirteen administrative regions of Burkina Faso.
Initially scheduled for the month of June, recruitment is reduced from May 4 to 31.
Faced with jihadist attacks since 2015, the Burkinabè armed forces are understaffed, especially at the level of combat units, according to a security source.
"
These new fighters will breathe life into those who are on the front line and will occupy other positions
", says our interlocutor.
Since the seizure of power by the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration, staff reinforcement has been on the agenda.
Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, president of the transition, had already recalled the non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers admitted to retirement for the past three years under the reserve, "
for the needs of the Nation
".
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Burkina Faso
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba