The National Armed Forces of Burkina Faso taken into service a significant consignment of armoured vehicles from China, in a delivery event attended by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the president of Burkina Faso, on 6 June.
The delivery is part of a strategic equipment plan that aims to strengthen the country’s security forces in their fight against jihadist insurgents.
The president’s office released a statement saying the consignment included armoured combat vehicles that are resistant to improvised explosive devices, weapons, munitions, excavators, and trucks.
TV news coverage of the event showed 50 CS/VP14 and 40 VP11 mine-resistance ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles lined up at a base for the event, along with 17 Caterpillar excavators.
Both MRAPs are promoted by China’s Norinco, which says the VP11 has a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of about 10 tonnes. The VP11 was already known to be in service in Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, and Mali. The Kenya Army was previously the only known operator of the newer CS/VP14, which is reported to have a GVW of 9 tonnes.
“This batch only represents the first delivery out of four batches, and we are basically at around 18–20% of the materiel, the rest is yet to come,” Minister of Defence Brigadier General Kassoum Coulibaly said during the handover ceremony.
A similar delivery took place on 15 January, when at least six 105 mm WMA301 fire-support vehicles and CS/SM1 self-propelled mortars were delivered.
Brig Gen Coulibaly said this was the first of five consignments that are expected to arrive over the coming months under the strategic equipment plan announced by Traoré on 31 December 2023.
Burkina Faso is facing a worsening humanitarian and security crisis as jihadist armed groups have extended their control to around 40% of the national territory. The country’s junta-led government has pursued an aggressive military campaign against the insurgents. The acquisition of new military equipment from China, which is a major economic partner of Burkina Faso, may signal the junta’s intention to consolidate its power and resist external pressure for a return to constitutional order.
Similarly, Burkina Faso acquired a batch of mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles from Egypt in January. The vehicles are the Buffalo E10, an improved version of the Temsah-2, which is Egypt’s flagship locally produced armored vehicle. The Buffalo E10 is a 6×6 MRAP that can carry up to 12 personnel, including a driver, a commander, and a gunner. It has a V-shaped hull that provides protection from landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as well as ballistic armor that can withstand 7.62 mm armor-piercing rounds and shell splinters.
Likewise, in January 2023, Turkey delivered the first batch of four Nurol Makina Edjer 6×6 armoured fighting vehicle to the Burkina Faso Army. The Nurol Makina Edjer 6×6 acquisition is part of a larger contract that includes a number of Nurol Ejder Yalçın 4×4 armoured vehicle which has since been delivered.
The country alongside neighbouring Nigér, recently withdrew from the G5 Sahel force a regional anti-jihadist coalition that was set up in 2014 with the support of France. The two countries have joined Mali, which also quit the G5 last year after a military coup, in forming a new alliance of Sahel states that aims to enhance their security and development.
Subsequently, Burkina’s military rulers deepened cooperation with Moscow as the country looks to diversify its international allies following a coup last year, at the detriment of former colonial master France. Russia, which has grown more isolated since its Ukraine offensive, has in recent months discussed greater military cooperation with Burkina Faso.