According to security and local sources, suspected jihadists carried out two attacks in northern and western Burkina Faso, resulting in the deaths of 22 civilians.
On Friday, sixteen civilians, who were volunteer auxiliaries supporting the army, were killed in the troubled northern region. A security source mentioned that some of the attackers also suffered losses during the incident. Additionally, a resident reported that two other civilians lost their lives in the attack, which took place in a village near Boulsa, the main town in the Namentenga province. The attackers also set fire to homes, motorcycles, and the local market.
In another attack on Friday, four civilians from a different volunteer auxiliary group were killed in the town of Fo in the west. Fo has been a frequent target of jihadist attacks in recent weeks, resulting in the majority of the residents fleeing.
Burkina Faso has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency that originated from neighboring Mali in 2015. The military’s frustration with the inability to contain the insurgency led to two coups last year, ultimately resulting in the rise of a young army captain, Ibrahim Traore, in September.
According to estimates from an NGO, over 10,000 civilians, soldiers, and police have lost their lives in the violence, while at least two million people have been displaced. The situation in Burkina Faso remains highly volatile and poses significant challenges in terms of security and stability.
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