Burkina Faso: The Burkinabe army is undergoing a transformation, with President Ibrahim Traoré equipping all security forces with combat units
Gone are the minor reforms and cosmetic adjustments. Captain Ibrahim Traoré has decided to completely overhaul the security apparatus of Burkina Faso to confront an ever-evolving terrorist threat. The observation is simple: personnel were insufficient, resources were lacking, and the areas to cover were too vast.
The solution chosen by the head of state is equal to the challenge: massive recruitment and the transformation of every professional corps into a potentially combat-ready unit.
The penitentiary administration, Water and Forests, the National Police, the National Gendarmerie: none of these institutions escape the wave of militarization desired by President Ibrahim Traoré.
Each now has its own special units, trained to hunt terrorists and defend the territory.
Forest guards, who used to spend their time issuing fines to woodcutters, are now capable of laying ambushes in the bush.
Penitentiary officers, supposed to guard detainees, can now take up arms if the walls of their prisons are threatened.
Training soldiers is good. Giving them the means to fight is better. The government has opened its checkbook to equip these new units with serious gear.
Gone are the old rifles and vehicles that break down at the first pothole. The men of President Traoré now receive modern individual weapons, armored vehicles to move around without risking getting shot up, and night vision equipment so that night is no longer the enemy’s exclusive territory.
Another major innovation: operational autonomy. Before, when an attack broke out in a remote area, reinforcements had to be called in, sometimes taking hours to arrive.
By the time help was deployed, the terrorists had already looted, burned, and vanished into the wild.
Now, each region has its own units, its own logistical resources, and its own capacity to mount operations without waiting for permission from Ouagadougou.
The result: security forces can strike faster, harder, and above all, where the enemy does not expect them.
Papa IBRAHIMA
