Desk Report
Publish: 14 Jun 2022, 10:15 am
Suspected militants targeted civilians in Seytenga in the West African country's Seno province, government spokesman Wendkouni Joel Lionel Bilgo said at a news conference || Photo: Collected
Armed men killed at least 100 civilians in a rural district
of northern Burkina Faso close to the border with Niger over the weekend, a
security source said.
The attackers targeted men but appeared to spare women and
children in Seytenga district on Saturday night, the security source and two
other sources said, all speaking on condition of anonymity.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the assault
happened in borderlands where militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State
are waging an insurgency.
About 3,000 people who fled the attack have arrived in Dori,
the capital of Burkina Faso’s surrounding Sahel region, where aid agencies are
on the ground, said a local official who asked not to be named.
There were differing accounts of the death toll. The
security official said on Monday at least 100 people had died. A local source
who did not wish to be named said the provisional tally stood at 165.
Burkina Faso’s government spokesman, Lionel Bilgo, said 50
bodies had been found so far but that the figure was not final. Soldiers were
going house to house looking for bodies, he said.
Violence linked to Islamist insurgents has killed thousands
and displaced millions across Burkina Faso and neighbouring Mali and Niger
since 2015.
Army officers angry about the escalating attacks overthrew
Burkina Faso’s president in January and vowed to improve security, but levels of
violence have remained high.
Armed men killed 11 military police in the same area last
Thursday.
The military government has cited security concerns for its
decision to take 36 months to restore democratic rule, despite pressure from
regional leaders to hold elections sooner.
The United Nations condemned the attack that “claimed many
victims” in a statement on Monday and called on authorities to bring
perpetrators to justice.
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