Global Courant 2023-04-28 23:23:59
A large number of Islamist extremists launched an attack on Burkina Faso’s army in the east of the country, killing 33 soldiers and wounding a dozen others, the army said on Friday.
The attack took place in the town of Ouagarou in Gourma province on Thursday, according to a statement from the army.
“During particularly intense fighting, the soldiers of the detachment showed remarkable determination when faced with an enemy that came in very large numbers,” the statement said, adding that 40 jihadists were also killed.
Fighters associated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror group have been waging a violent insurgency in Burkina Faso for seven years. The violence has killed thousands and displaced about 2 million.
SCIENTISTS REPORT CLIMATE CHANGE Aggravated DROUGHT IN EAST AFRICA
Islamic extremists have killed 33 soldiers in Burkina Faso’s latest attack on the army in the east of the country. (Fox news)
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It has also divided a once peaceful nation and fueled the frustration that led to two coups last year. The new junta leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, has promised to secure the country. But some citizens also say they fear Burkina Faso’s security forces, accusing them of extrajudicial killings and the disappearance of countless others accused of supporting the militants.
Meanwhile, attacks are ramping up and spreading as jihadists blockade villages, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from moving freely.
Earlier this month, gunmen in the north of the country killed at least 40 members of Burkina Faso’s security forces and injured dozens more.
Local residents have accused security forces of brutally killing civilians in the north. The United Nations has called for a thorough and independent investigation into what it called the “heinous killing of civilians”.
