302 recruits of the 2023 contingent of the Timbuktu Operational Training and Conditioning Center, including 10 female personnel, took the oath under the National flag, the sacred emblem of the Nation, on Tuesday, september 30, 2025, on the parade ground of Camp Fort Cheick Sidi BEKAYE in Timbuktu. This was in the presence of the representative of the Governor of Timbuktu, Boubacar DANFAGA, and the Commander of Military Region N5, Chief of Sector 3 of Operation Dougoukoloko, Colonel Seydou Bassirou NIANGADO. Also present were several military, administrative, religious, and traditional authorities from the city of 333 saints.
These recruits from the Malian Defense and Security Forces successfully completed a rich and varied program for six months, a first in the Timbuktu region. The Major is Private 2nd Class Sidi Yaya Mohamed Ould SAMAKE.
During this ceremony, the recruits demonstrated weapon disassembly and reassembly, counter-narcotics awareness skits, and postures when facing the enemy. The top three received gifts for their bravery.
The Commander of Sector 3 of Operation Dougoukoloko, Colonel Seydou Bassirou Niangado, stated that they wanted these recruits, upon graduation, to be ready for direct deployment to the theater of operations.
He stated that these young people evolved in an environment conducive to training, in which they were not entitled to visits or leave. He emphasized that with a 56-hectare area housing shooting ranges and training grounds, these young people are today the pride of Timbuktu in particular and Mali in general. With shooting sessions granted to them, their individual talent has enabled some to become PKM, 12.7 mm, and LRAC shooters. He finally thanked the hierarchy for the trust placed, for the first time, in his military region to produce the sector's needs in light of the threat.
For the Director of the Timbuktu Training and Operational Conditioning Center, Lieutenant Colonel Adama Kounandi OUATTARA, this contingent is a real demonstration of the clear commitment of the highest authorities in general and of the Commander of Defense Zone N5 to equip our defense force with effective personnel to face the current security challenges facing our country. Addressing the recruits, he congratulated them for their patriotic choice in becoming defenders of the Nation. He called on them to be aware of the dangers of alcohol and drugs. To the instructors and supervisors, he extended his warm and sincere congratulations for their responsibility and availability.
Sgt. Abdoulaye TRAORE
