Excessive power of volunteer defense forces in Burkina Faso backfires
The act based on which volunteer forces have been established was enacted in desperation by the National government as a way to deal with the growing Jihadist threat.
The increasing jihadist threat led to the Burkinabe government creating and passing a new law called, “Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland Act” International Christian Concern reported.
This act gave permission for villages to form volunteer militias who would get 2 weeks of military training and then weapons that they could use to defend their homes and villages.
However,several weeks ago, on March 8, an attack on three villages in Northern Burkina Faso has been blamed on one of the largest of these militias, called “Kogleweogo”.
According to Amnesty International, this group believed that there were jihadists hiding in the villages of Dinguila-Peulh, Barga and Ramdolla-Peulh. They then used this as an excuse to raid the villages. During the attack, they killed as many as 43 people and burned down houses.
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