Defence Minister Colonel Kassoum Coulibaly said the recruits must be between 20 and 35 years old and be prepared to serve in the army for at least five years.

A week ago more than 50 soldiers were killed in the north of the country.

At least 15 others were reported to have died on Monday in an ambush by militants affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Since the Islamist insurgency began in 2015 nearly two million people have been displaced.