Not less than 50 people have reportedly died in an attack by armed men on a village in northern Burkina Faso.
It was gathered that the attackers struck overnight between Saturday and Sunday in Seytenga commune, part of Seno province, which lies in borderlands where fighters linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL are embroiled in an armed uprising.
Spokesman Lionel Bilgo said, “The army has so far found 50 bodies” after the village of Seytenga was attacked overnight Saturday; the death toll “may rise”.
There were different accounts of the death toll. A security official said on Monday that at least 100 people had died, while a local source who did not wish to be named disclosed that some 165 people had been killed.
The United Nations condemned the attack, which it said had “claimed many victims”, and called on authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Eleven police were killed on Thursday, prompting a military operation that the army said led to the deaths of about 40 rebel fighters.
“The bloodshed was caused by reprisals to the army’s actions,” government spokesman Bilgo said.
