Two attacks leave 18 dead in Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (AFP):
Two attacks killed at least 18 people, including 16 auxiliaries supporting the army, in Burkina Faso, security sources said on Friday.
Thursday’s attacks in the north and northwest of the country were the latest to hit a civilian auxiliary force that supports the military in a seven-year fight against militants.
Landlocked Burkina Faso in West Africa is one of the poorest and most volatile nations in the world.
Since 2015, it has been grappling with an insurgency led by fighters linked with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Thursday’s “first attack targeted an advance party of Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) in Rakoegtenga,” a town in the northern province of Bam, a VDP official said.
Six auxiliaries and a woman died in the attack, the same official said.
Around 10 people were wounded, including some seriously, who were “evacuated to Ouagadougou for appropriate care,” the VDP official said.
He said the second attack killed around 10 auxiliaries and a person in Nayala province in the northwest “in the afternoon when a convoy escorted by auxiliaries and soldiers was ambushed on the Siena-Saran road”.
Security sources confirmed the two attacks but gave no precise death toll, referring only to “a number of losses”.
The VDP, set up in December 2019, comprises civilian volunteers who are given two weeks’ military training and then work alongside the army, typically carrying out surveillance, information-gathering or escort duties.
Violence targeting security forces and civilians has increased in recent months, especially in northern and eastern regions bordering Mali and Niger.
The escalating toll unleashed two military coups last year, launched by officers angered at failures to stem the bloodshed.
The latest strongman is Captain Ibrahim Traore, who on September 30 ousted Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
Damiba had seized the helm in January 2022 from the last elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
