“Several dozen” soldiers and civilian auxiliaries have been killed in a suspected jihadist attack in eastern Burkina Faso, local and security sources told AFP on Sunday.
Since 2015 Burkina Faso has been plagued by jihadist violence from groups linked to the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda.
In the latest attack, a security source in Tapoa province said an army detachment from the main city of Diapaga was targeted in a “violent attack” on Friday.
The victims were regular army soldiers and civilian volunteers, and there were “many wounded,” the source added.
A separate security source confirmed the attack to AFP, adding that “several terrorists were neutralised in the retaliation” and that the army had launched a sweep of the area.
30 Injured
According to a hospital source in the eastern city of Fada N’Gourma, “around 30 wounded, all from the security forces, were evacuated yesterday (Saturday)” to the hospital center in the region.
“While the detachment was under attack, the town was also targeted by terrorists who set fire to shops and homes,” said one resident in Diapaga.
“The day after the attack, gunfire was also heard around the town.”
There was no immediate comment from the Burkinabe authorities.
The eastern region was hit earlier this month by two separate attacks that killed at least a dozen members of the security forces and civilians.
In early January, the government announced the creation of a new rapid intervention battalion (BIR) to be stationed in Diapaga.
The BIR was created by the head of the military regime, Captain Ibrahim Traore, in power since 2022 following a military coup, to combat jihadist attacks.
It is supported by the VDP (Volontaires pour la defense de la patrie), civilians recruited from the local population who receive three months training.
They are armed and operate either with the army or alone.
NGOs such as Human Rights Watch have previously denounced the massacre of civilians blamed on the Burkinabe army and the VDP under the guise of the fight against jihadism.
Jihadist violence has caused more than 26,000 deaths in that time, according to conflict monitor ACLED, while more than two million Burkinabe people have been displaced.
