In northeastern Ivory Coast, along the border with Burkina Faso, tension has become a constant state of existence. While the expansion of the Sahelian jihadist threat remains a critical concern, a new danger has emerged: the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDPs), auxiliary forces supporting the Burkinabé army. FRANCE 24’s Julia Guggenheim, Damien Koffi, and M’ma Camara report on the unfolding situation.
Originally established as self-defense militias to combat terrorism, the VDPs are now accused of severe human rights violations. According to Human Rights Watch, these forces were responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 civilians in Burkina Faso between 2023 and 2025—a figure that is double the number of civilian casualties caused by the very terrorist groups the VDPs were created to fight.
Currently, these militias conduct frequent and occasionally violent incursions into Ivorian territory, exploiting a poorly defined and difficult-to-monitor border.
As political relations between Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré and Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara reach their lowest point in years, some militia members have gone so far as to claim that certain Ivorian villages are actually Burkinabé territory.
Following several months of negotiations, our team was granted exceptional permission to accompany the Ivorian army along this highly volatile border stretch.