OR European Union “condemns” Saturday’s “terrorist” action that resulted in the loss of “hundreds” of people, “mostly civilians” in its central-northern prefecture Burkina Fasoemphasized the head of European diplomacy Joseph Borel in a statement made public yesterday Wednesday by his services at the European External Action Service.

“The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack committed by UIM on August 24 in Barsaloggo, in the central-northern prefecture of Burkina Faso. This new large-scale attack had hundreds of victims, mostly civilians,” stressed Mr. Borrell.

An organization of relatives of the victims of the massacre, Collective Justice for Barsalog, accused the army of forcing residents out of the community to dig trenches, exposing them to attack by UIM, or Organization for the Support of Islam and Muslims. jihadist faction that has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

“The EU expresses its solidarity with Burkina Faso, its condolences to the families of the victims and its wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured,” Mr Borrell added.

Brussels expresses “strong concern over the worsening security situation” in the country and in the region, “encourages all efforts to counter these cycles of violence and prevent any escalation” and emphasizes that “the fight against terrorism in the Sahel is not may fade.”

The EU “reaffirms its will to stand by the people of Burkina Faso”, always according to the announcement of the High Representative for the common foreign and security policy and vice-president of the Commission.

No casualty count of the attack by the military regime in Burkina Faso has been announced at this stage. Four ministers and the chief of the general staff went the day after the attack to Kaya—the capital of the province, where the wounded were treated—and then to Barsaloggo.

For about a year, the authorities that emerged from a military coup have not released figures on casualties, both in the ranks of the armed forces and among civilians, of jihadist attacks.

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Burkina Faso, Carol Flor Smeresniak, expressed her “deep sadness at the enormous loss of life, including these two aid workers.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “condemns the terrorist attacks” in Barsaloggo, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric told accredited editors in New York last Tuesday.

Since 2015, the Sahel country has been hit by frequent jihadist attacks, which have killed more than 20,000 people — civilians and soldiers — including nearly 3,800 this year alone, according to ACLED, a non-governmental organization that tracks numbers of victims of armed conflicts at the international level.