Originally formed as self-defence militias to fight terrorism, the VDPs were reportedly responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 civilians in Burkina Faso between 2023 and 2025 – twice as many as those killed by the terrorist groups they were created to fight against, according to Human Rights Watch.
Today, they carry out regular – and sometimes violent – incursions into Ivorian territory along a poorly defined border that is difficult to control.
At a time when political tensions between Burkina Faso's Ibrahim Traoré and Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara are at their highest in years, some of these militias have even gone as far as to claim that certain Ivorian villages actually belong to Burkina Faso.
After several months of negotiations, our team obtained exceptional permission to accompany the Ivorian army along this highly volatile stretch of border.
