UNREST: DOZENS KILLED IN BURKINA FASO MILITANTS ATTACK
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Civilians were among the dozens slain in a jihadist strike in Burkina Faso, local and security sources told AFP on Sunday.
Since 2015, jihadist rebels linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have launched a brutal war in Burkina Faso, killing thousands and displacing two million people.
Armed men carried out the latest attack on Saturday in the village of Barsalogho, north-central Burkina Faso, according to several accounts.
Communications Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo condemned the “cowardly and barbaric attack” and claimed it was carried out by “hordes of criminals”.
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On national television, Ouedraogo stated that the attackers made no discrimination between women, children, the elderly, or men.
A local witness told AFP by phone that the attack occurred at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, when “terrorist groups attacked the village, killing numerous civilians and security personnel.”.
According to a security source who pleaded not to be identified, “several dozen dead” included civilians and security forces.
The majority of the “numerous wounded” were transported to a hospital in Kaya, the regional capital, which is approximately 45 kilometres (28 miles) away, according to the source.
Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the incident.
According to another local resident, the victims were mainly “young civilians, who came out in large numbers to help the soldiers dig trenches around the town, to protect themselves from possible attacks by armed terrorist groups”.
A second security source said that “the response of the soldiers” and auxiliary troops “made it possible to neutralise several terrorists and avoid a greater tragedy”.
According to a hospital source in Kaya, around 100 injured people were transported to the city’s major medical facility.
According to an internal note seen by AFP, the centre’s chief called on all personnel to come in to cope with the “emergency linked to a massive influx of patients since the morning of (Saturday) August 24.”.
According to Security Minister Mahamadou Sana, civilians were killed in the incident, despite “a response and air support.”.
According to Sana, soldiers and civilians who support the military, known as Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP), were also murdered.
After taking power in a putsch in September 2022, Burkina’s coup leaders expelled troops and diplomats from former colonial ruler France, and have turned to Russia for military assistance.
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