Four years ago, the Burkinabe army was operating under an unfavourable balance of forces. Today, according to the Minister of War and Patriotic Defence, General Célestin Simporé, the state controls 74.53% of the national territory, compared with 40% in 2022. The figure reflects a deliberate rise in power driven by President Ibrahim Traoré’s sovereignist and revolutionary vision.
This progress rests first on an unprecedented equipment effort. Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci drones, combat helicopters, armoured vehicles resistant to improvised explosive devices, and weapons and ammunition now give the army the means to monitor the sky and strike the enemy in the most remote areas.
According to the Ministry of Economy, nearly $1 billion was devoted to these acquisitions in 2023, made possible by diversifying partnerships with Russia, Turkey and China.
The effort is also popular. The Patriotic Support Fund mobilised more than 175 billion CFA francs in 2024, then 222 billion in 2025, financing among other things three combat helicopters.
For 2026, the target is at least 200 billion. This citizen contribution embodies the head of state’s conviction that the people are waging their own war.
The reorganisation of the forces completes this system: the army now has twenty-eight Rapid Intervention Battalions and thirteen Mobile Intervention Unit Groups, while the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland Brigade has been raised to the status of an army.
The minister also highlights the return of the administration and populations to recaptured areas, as well as regular resupply of several localities.
Beyond the figures, a philosophy is asserting itself: relying first on oneself, owning one’s choice of partners and refusing all tutelage.
The Burkinabè army also has expertise in the maintenance, renovation and manufacture of military equipment, a sign of growing autonomy.
The Popular Progressive Revolution gives this momentum its ideological framework: defence of the homeland is a shared duty.
The road remains long: the quarter of the territory still outside the claimed control remains, according to the minister, accessible to the armed forces, which can go anywhere.
The advancenearly one percentage point in six months confirms a continuous dynamic. With these means, this organisation and this vision, Burkina Faso is moving step by step towards the full restoration of its territorial integrity.
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