Gunmen, described as “terrorists” by the authorities, killed dozens of people yesterday Saturday, including many civilians, in the central-northern prefecture of Burkina Faso, sources in the region and in the security forces told AFP yesterday Sunday.

“We mourn dozens of dead, civilians and members of the DAS (defense and security forces), while we also have many wounded,” said a source in the security forces, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirming the attack in the village of Barsalogko.

The injured were “taken to Kaya”, the capital of the central-northern prefecture, about 45 kilometers from the community where the attack was committed, according to the same source.

“Yesterday (the day before Saturday), around 09:00 (local time; 12:00 Greek time), groups of terrorists attacked the village, killing many civilians and members of the security forces,” said a local resident.

Up to this stage, there has been no acceptance of responsibility for the action by any of the armed organizations that operate in the region and swear allegiance mainly to Al-Qaeda.

According to another resident, the victims were mainly “young people, who had gone (…) to help soldiers dig trenches around the city” to counter “possible attacks by terrorist armed organizations”.

“Most of the victims were buried” yesterday, he added.

A second source in the security forces said that “the response of the soldiers and the VDP (‘volunteers for the defense of the motherland’, an auxiliary body of the armed forces, fighting alongside them) allowed many terrorists to be neutralized and a greater tragedy to be avoided.”

According to a source at a hospital in Kaya, more than a hundred wounded were taken to the city’s largest health center.

Yesterday, with an internal message obtained by Agence France-Presse, the general director of the prefectural general hospital in Kaya, Safoura Yameogo, called on all staff, not excluding those who had leaves or days off, to mobilize, due to the “massive” transfer of patients “from the morning” of Saturday August 24 to the health structure.

Since 2015, the country has been hit by frequent jihadist attacks that have killed more than 20,000 people — civilians and soldiers — including nearly 3,800 this year alone, according to ACLED, an NGO that keeps track of casualty numbers. of armed conflicts at the international level.

Authorities have now avoided releasing information for months about the attacks, which continue to often plunge the Sahel state into mourning.

The head of the military regime in Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a coup in September 2022, promised that the fight against “terrorism” would be an absolute “priority” for him.