Nineteen members of the military police in Burkina Faso and one civilian have been killed in an attack by jihadist militias, the security minister said. 22 people are said to have survived the attack. The minister speaks of a “cowardly and barbaric attack”.
Reuters news agency even reports that at least 30 soldiers have been killed and that the death toll could rise, making it one of the deadliest attacks on the army in the West African country.
gold mine
The attack was at a military post at Inata, a gold mine in the north of the country, near the border triangle with Mali and Niger. In recent years there has been an increasing incidence of bloody violence by jihadists with ties to terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaida and Islamic State in this area. Two days ago, according to the government, seven more officers were killed in another attack.
Troops from France, Niger and Mali, among others, are stationed in the area to quell the rise of Islamic extremism. Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the violence, more than a million people have fled to other areas in the country, according to the United Nations. Another 38,000 Burkinabe have fled to neighboring countries to avoid the bloodshed.
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