Authorities in Burkina Faso on Thursday announced a recruitment drive for 5,000 soldiers to serve in the army for at least five years to aid the country in its fight against jihadists.
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Africa Today News, New York reports that if Burkina Faso’s 13 regions, those that are hotspots for violence will have higher quotas for recruitment — including the western Boucle du Mouhoun region and the Sahel in the north.
This is the third time in less than a year that the Burkinabe army has organised such a drive. In April 2022, 3,000 soldiers were recruited, with the process launched again in October.
Burkina Faso has been rocked by two coups since the start of the year, with each new leader accusing the previous of having failed to quell the violence.
In seven years, more than 1,000 civilians and soldiers have been killed, according to NGOs, and some two million people internally displaced.
Captain Ibrahim Traore — the country’s transitional president, who staged the most recent coup on September 30 — has set a goal of recapturing 40 percent of Burkina Faso’s territory, which is controlled by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that shortly after seizing power, he launched a campaign to recruit so-called civilian defence volunteers.