Air and ground operations followed to track down the perpetrators of the attack and “several airstrikes were carried out against groups trying to retreat to a terrorist base in Bangmiugou, near Barsaloggo.” According to the general staff, “several terrorists were neutralized and their supply base was destroyed.”
Five civilians were killed on Sunday in an attack by suspected jihadists on a military detachment in Barsaloggo, northern Burkina Faso, the army said.
“On Sunday morning” there were “battles between elements of the military detachment in Barsaloggo”, in the central and northern sectors, and “a group of armed terrorists who attacked” against the base. “At the same time, another group of terrorists targeted civilians,” the general staff said in a statement.
The official casualty count says “five civilians, including a child” were killed, as well as “eight military wounded” who were taken to a hospital, according to the military.
Air and ground operations followed to track down the perpetrators of the attack and “several airstrikes were carried out against groups trying to retreat to a terrorist base in Bangmiugou, near Barsaloggo.” According to the general staff, “several terrorists were neutralized and their supply base was destroyed.”
The French Barchan force frequently provides air support to Burkina Faso army operations.
Like its neighboring countries (Niger, Mali), Burkina Faso has been faced since 2015 with an escalation of violent incidents, attributed to jihadist armed movements that pledge allegiance to either Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. Thousands of people have been killed and 1.9 million displaced in the state of 21 million people, one of the poorest in the world despite its large gold deposits.
More than 40% of the territory is outside state control, according to official figures.
Burkina Faso has become the epicenter of the security crisis in the Sahel, with more deadly attacks than Mali and Niger in 2021, according to the non-governmental organization ACLED.
In late January, Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Santogo Dhamiba ousted President-elect Roque Marc Christian Cabore, criticized for his inability to deal with jihadist violence, by promising that restoring security would be his top “priority.”
But the security situation in Burkina Faso has far from improved.
RES-EMP
View the news feed and get the latest news.
