At least 24 people were killed on Tuesday in two attacks attributed to jihadists in the central-eastern part of Burkina Faso, officials in the African country told AFP.

“Terrorist groups launched an attack yesterday (Tuesday) in the village of Zekeze,” near the border with Togo and Ghana, a local official said. According to him, 16 members of the volunteer force (VDP) and four civilians were killed, adding that the toll may rise as there are several missing. He also said that “more than 12 terrorists were killed” in an ensuing operation against jihadist positions.

A spokesman for the VDP forces said four more volunteers were killed in another attack launched by “terrorists” in a nearby area, during which ten of them were killed.

This morning, hundreds of residents of the district where the attacks took place, demonstrated demanding the deployment of security forces to support the VDP volunteers.

Since December 2019, when the first corps of volunteers for the defense of the homeland (Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie, VDP) were formed to help the armed forces fight against jihadists, the number of casualties has been high.

Over the weekend, 10 soldiers and 32 volunteers were killed in two attacks in the north of the country.

Transitional authorities in Burkina Faso last week declared “general mobilization” in order to “give the state all the necessary means” to deal with jihadist activity that has often plunged the country into mourning, a decision that allows them to issue orders .

Burkina Faso, which saw two military coups in 2022, has been plagued for eight years by jihadist attacks that have killed more than 10,000 people and displaced some 2 million residents.