Paper short abstract:

The Burkinabè government began to use civilians as a resource in the fight against terrorism and founded the VDP. Following two military coups, the VDP were reorganized. This paper discusses their development and controversies. The VDP provides an example how governance became authoritarian.

Paper long abstract:

Following increasingly deadly terrorist attacks, a law was passed at the beginning of 2020 that provides for the recruitment of volunteers as auxiliary troops to remedy the shortage of state security forces. Many Dozo fighters and members of the Koglweogo self-defense group responded to the call for recruitment. Poorly paid and badly trained, they were expected to fight terrorists in their villages after a two-week training course. This triggered a spiral of violence: Many civilians were killed by terrorists in revenge for joining the VDP while they attack themselves innocent civilians, often from the Fulbe community. For many years, a narrative in the Sahel countries has been that Fulbe are terrorists. Since the Fulbe community was excluded from the recruitment of the VDP, it is trapped between terrorists as well as state and civil security forces. Burkinabe human rights organizations now rarely report on extrajudicial executions of the Fulbe. The spokesperson of the collective Collectif contre l'impunité et la stigmatisation des communautés (CISC), which until recently most frequently denounced VDP crimes, was kidnapped and forcibly recruited at the beginning of December 2023 before the decree of general mobilization. After two military coups, the transitional government thus began to focus on the VDP as a resource for counterterrorism by forcibly recruiting regime critics to increase the number of volunteers. To achieve the defense and reconquest of the national territory, the Burkinabè transitional government became increasingly authoritarian and massively restricted freedom of the press and freedom of expression.