The campaign aims to enlist more than 100 recruits per commune whose mission will be to protect local people and property from extremist attacks, according to a statement from the commander of the Patriotic Surveillance and Defense Brigade (BVDP), Colonel Boukare Zoungrana.

According to Burkina Faso’s law, a civilian volunteer is defined as ‘a person of Burkina Faso nationality, auxiliary to the Defense and Security Forces, who voluntarily serves the security interests of his people or sector of residence.’

The new recruits receive 14 days of civic and military training before being armed and provided with means of communication.

This recruitment is added to the one made at the beginning of the week, when the BVDP announced its intention to creat a force of 15,000 volunteers “who can be deployed throughout the national territory.”

jg/mem/adr.