Attack by unidentified assailants left at least 34 civilian volunteers and six soldiers dead in Burkina Faso

At least 34 civilian volunteers and six soldiers were killed on Sunday in an attack by unidentified assailants in northern Burkina Faso, according to a statement released by the local government. The attack is believed to have been carried out by jihadists. The statement explained that a detachment of soldiers and civilian volunteers ‘was the target of an attack by unidentified armed men on Saturday at about 4 pm.’

The attack occurred in the village of Aorema near the town of Ouahigouya, which is close to the border with Mali. This area has been taken over by Islamist groups affiliated with al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and they have been frequently conducting attacks in the region.

There has been no confirmation regarding the perpetrators of the attack. This is the second attack to occur in Burkina Faso in just nine days; the first one happened when gunmen killed 44 people in the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi in the country’s north.

The government has been urging civilians to join local defense forces to assist in controlling the violence that has been taking place for eight years, leading to the deaths of thousands of people and the displacement of millions of others from their homes.

Last year, Burkina Faso experienced two military coups, and the military has emphasized its intention to take control of the country. The region has been plagued by violence since 2012, when Islamists hijacked a Tuareg separatist uprising in Mali. This violence has subsequently spread to neighboring countries such as Niger and Burkina Faso, and it poses a threat of destabilization to coastal countries further away.