Security and local sources disclosed that at least fourteen people, including eight civilian army replacements, were killed Monday in two separate attacks by jihadist groups in northern Burkina Faso.
“Armed individuals attacked in the early hours of Monday the village of Safi, located in the Boala commune, near Kaya (central north). The Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP, civilian auxiliaries to the army) who were directly targeted lost eight members,” a security source stated.
A local VDP official, also confirmed the attack, citing a toll of “7 dead, 10 wounded and significant material damage”.
“On the same day, near Markoye, in the northeastern province of Oudalan, armed individuals killed six civilians and took away vehicles and other property,” the security source added.
Since 2015, Burkina Faso has regularly experienced jihadist attacks that have killed thousands and forced some two million people to flee their homes.
These attacks have increased in recent months, mainly in the north and east of the country.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who led a military coup on September 30 against Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, was sworn in as president of the transitional government by the Constitutional Council on October 21.
This was the second coup d’état in Burkina Faso in eight months, and each time the coup leaders cited a deteriorating security situation.
