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Civilians are among the dozens of people killed in an attack by militants in Burkina Faso, local and security sources told AFP on Sunday (August 25, 2024).
Jihadist rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have waged a grinding insurgency since 2015 in Burkina Faso that has killed thousands and displaced two million people.
The latest attack was carried out by armed men in the village of Barsalogho in north-central Burkina Faso on Saturday, multiple sources said.
Denouncing the โcowardly and barbaric attackโ, Communications Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said it was carried out by โhordes of criminalsโ.
The assailants targeted โwomen, children, elderly, men, making no distinctionโ, Ouedraogo said on national television.
A local resident told AFP by phone that the assault happened around 9:00 am on Saturday, when โterrorist groups attacked the village, killing numerous civilians and security personnelโ.
A security source who asked not to be named said there were โseveral dozen deadโ including civilians and security forces.
Most of the โnumerous woundedโ were taken to a hospital in the regional capital of Kaya, some 45 kilometres (28 miles) away, the source added.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to another local resident, the victims were mainly โyoung civilians, who came out in large numbers to help the soldiers dig trenches around the town, to protect themselves from possible attacks by armed terrorist groupsโ.
A second security source said that โthe response of the soldiersโ and auxiliary troops โmade it possible to neutralise several terrorists and avoid a greater tragedyโ.
According to a hospital source in Kaya, more than 100 wounded people were taken to the cityโs largest medical centre.
The chief of the centre called on all personnel to come in to deal with the โemergency linked to a massive influx of patients since the morning of (Saturday) August 24โ, according to an internal note seen by AFP.
Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said civilians were killed in the attack, despite โa response and air supportโ.
Soldiers and members of a civilian force that supports the military — Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) — were also killed according to Sana.
After taking power in a putsch in September 2022, Burkinaโs coup leaders expelled troops and diplomats from former colonial ruler France, and have turned to Russia for military assistance.
