Armed terrorist groups killed 44 civilians in two villages in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger border, according to regional governor Rodolphe Sorgho.
The attacks took place overnight Thursday in the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi in the Sahel region. Sorgho reported that 31 people died in Kourakou and 13 in Tondobi.
The lieutenant-governor described the killings as a “despicable and barbaric attack”.
The army launched an offensive against the attackers, Sorgho said, and “actions to stabilise the area are under way”.
Last June, 86 civilians were killed close to the village of Seytenga in one of the worst attacks of an ongoing insurgency.
The impoverished Sahel country of Burkina Faso is facing a seven-year-old jihadist insurgency, with attacks by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State increasing in recent years.
In response to the recent attacks, the country’s new military chief, Colonel Celestin Simpore, vowed to step up a “dynamic offensive” against the armed groups.
Regional governor Rodolphe Sorgho also called on the local population to join the Front for the Defence of the Fatherland (FDS), a pro-junta movement, and enroll in the VDP volunteer militia.
The twin attacks that killed 44 civilians on Thursday happened close to the village of Seytenga, where 86 people were killed in one of the deadliest attacks of the insurgency.
Sorgho said that “actions to stabilize the area are under way”.
Bay States News 