Burkina Faso Armed Forces

The Burkina Faso Armed Forces, called Forces armees du Burkina Faso in French, are the national military of landlocked Burkina Faso. They began on 3 August 1960 as the National Army, formed from the former French colonial forces when Upper Volta became independent, and today comprise the Army, the Air Force, the National Gendarmerie and the People's Militia. There is no navy because the country has no coast. The Air Force started in 1964 as a small squadron inside the army and became an autonomous service in 1977. The forces fought Mali in the Agacher Strip War of December 1985, have been drawn into several coups and mutinies since independence, and face increasingly frequent jihadist attacks. The United States and other partners have supplied training, while the Army and People's Militia follow Soviet and Chinese organisational models.