Burkina Faso acquires military equipment worth $415m to fight terrorism

Burkina Faso has acquired military equipment including drones and armored vehicles worth around $415 million to beef up the army’s capacity in the fight against terrorism, reports say.

The acquisition took place this month after the government greenlighted on March 1st the ratification of a sovereign guarantee in favor of International Business Bank Burkina (IB Bank Burkina), a local bank which facilitated the transaction.

The government, led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, did not reveal the identity of the supplier but a source within the army indicated that the equipment include drones, fighter jets, weapons, ammunition, troop transport and combat vehicles. The source who required anonymity also revealed that the equipment is already in use by the army and proved to be efficient.

“On some fronts, this equipment is producing concrete results. It is used by soldiers in the field,” the source added.

The West African country has been grappling with insecurity caused by terrorists and has lost 40 per cent of its territory to the terror groups. In power since September 2022 following a coup, Traoré has vowed to improve the logistics of the army in face of terrorists who seemed better equipped than the country’s own forces.