Burkina Faso continues to expand its reliance on the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP)as one of the principal components of its strategy for countering the escalating activity of armed groups — amid the continued widening of security threats, and the inability of regular forces alone to secure the rural and border areas that are witnessing growing activity by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
This orientation forms part of a broader shift in the security approach adopted by the military authority in Burkina Faso since the army seized power in 2022, with the new leadership focusing on mobilising local resources and expanding popular participation in security operations — rather than relying entirely on the armed forces. Volunteer forces have come to represent an essential component of the security deployment in areas suffering from weak state presence.
Recent developments indicate the continuation of government efforts to recruit, train, and arm more volunteers, while granting them a larger role in local surveillance operations, information gathering, and support for military units during operations against armed groups. This policy rests on the authorities' conviction that local residents possess better knowledge of the geographical and social environment, and can provide intelligence that helps government forces in confronting armed organisations.
The Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland programme was established in 2020 during the tenure of former President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, but its importance escalated considerably following the military council's rise to power, with the new leadership declaring that the restoration of territorial control and the confrontation of armed groups represent a national priority. In the recent period, the volunteer forces have transformed from limited local groups into a widely deployed auxiliary force operating across most of the areas affected by violence.
The expanded reliance on these forces is linked to several factors, most prominently the shortage in regular force numbers relative to the scale of security challenges, the vast expanse of areas requiring protection, and the unconventional nature of the conflict — in which armed groups rely on guerrilla warfare tactics, surprise attacks, and the targeting of military bases and remote villages.
The decline in military cooperation with Western partners — particularly France — has also contributed to pushing the authorities to seek local alternatives to compensate for some of the lost security capabilities. At the same time, the escalation of military cooperation with Russia has led to a refocusing toward building more independent local capacities, with the government continuing to emphasise that the volunteers represent part of its project of "security sovereignty."
Despite the volunteers' growing role, reliance on them raises a number of challenges. From a military standpoint, the level of training, armament, and discipline remains uneven among units — which may affect their effectiveness in confronting armed groups that possess considerable combat experience. The government also faces criticism regarding the difficulty of ensuring full oversight of all elements, particularly as the programme expands rapidly.
At the social level, the participation of local armed groups has raised concerns about the potential escalation of communal tensions — particularly in areas where the security dimension intersects with ethnic and local divisions. Some reports warn that a prolonged conflict may lead certain volunteer units to transform into independent security actors that would be difficult to reintegrate into state institutions in the future.
The targeting of volunteers by armed groups also represents an additional challenge, as these forces have become a primary target for retaliatory attacks — resulting in significant human losses within their ranks. Jihadist organisations use the targeting of volunteers as a means of weakening the state's ability to rely on local communities in rural areas.
Despite these challenges, Burkina Faso's reliance on volunteer forces is likely to continue during the period ahead, given the persistence of security threats and the difficulty of achieving comprehensive military deployment. However, the success of this model will depend on the government's ability to develop a clear institutional framework for regulating these forces, improving training and oversight, and ensuring their integration within a long-term national security strategy.
Overall, the expansion of the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland programme reflects a shift in the nature of the security response in Burkina Faso — from a model relying on regular forces alone to one of broad community mobilisation to confront unconventional threats. While this approach provides the government with a greater capacity for deployment and rapid response, it simultaneously carries risks related to security governance and the sustainability of control over local armed groups.
