Burkina Faso decorates 56 military and defence personnel for army’s 66th anniversary
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on AIB
Fifty-six military and defence personnel received distinctions at the ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the National Armed Forces, held on 1 November in Ouagadougou. Six medal categories were awarded, according to the Burkina Information Agency (AIB), during a commemoration held amid a difficult security situation.
Fifty-six military personnel and defence personnel were decorated in Ouagadougou on Sunday during the ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the National Armed Forces (FAN), according to the Burkina Information Agency (AIB). The commemoration was held under the theme “National Armed Forces and the military reserve for the sovereign defence of the homeland”.
The distinctions included eight military medals of honour, 24 military medals, five combatant’s crosses and eight firefighters’ medals of honour, one of which was awarded to a civilian employee. Four commemorative medals and four medals of honour for the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP) were also awarded, according to AIB.
The Minister of State for War and Patriotic Defence, Major General Célestin Simporé, praised the sacrifice of military personnel and called on Burkinabè people to contribute to collective security. He said that the combat forces were maintaining pressure on their opponents despite the difficult security situation, according to AIB.
More than 86,000 people had registered for the military reserve less than a month after the campaign opened, against a target of 100,000 reservists. Célestin Simporé presented the initiative as a complementary force, organised and capable of being mobilised when needed, without it being intended to turn every citizen into a soldier. The ceremony came after the launch of the 66th anniversary with a 2.5-kilometre cross-country race on 20 October, and on the same day as Ibrahim Traoré’s tribute to fallen Burkinabè soldiers.
