An attack by suspected jihadists on Friday murdered about 33 soldiers in eastern Burkina Faso, the country’s army has disclosed.
An army statement revealed that a contingent of troops came across ‘a complex, large-scale attack’ in the east region, which also left 12 soldiers wounded.
The soldiers ‘neutralised at least 40 terrorists before the arrival of reinforcements’ during the ‘particularly intense fighting,’ it added.
The wounded troops were evacuated and were being treated by the health services, the army said.
Burkina Faso has been grappling with a bloody jihadist insurgency since 2015, when unrest spilled over from neighboring Mali.
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Fighting between the security forces and groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group has left thousands dead and forced millions of people to flee their homes.
Anger within the military at the government’s failure to stem the jihadist attacks sparked two coups in 2022. Around 40 percent of the country’s territory lies outside state control.
Captain Ibrahim Traore, who has led the West African nation since seizing power last September, this month signed a decree for a yearlong ‘general mobilization’ to give the state ‘all necessary means’ to counter the militants.
In another report, suspected jihadists on Saturday attacked a military camp in central Mali, two local elected officials and a diplomatic source told reporters referring to the site as a ‘Russian camp’.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Mali’s junta had in 2022 began working with what it calls Russian military “instructors”. Opponents say these are mercenaries from the Wagner group.
‘We have no toll for the moment — the situation is still confused — it is jihadists who targeted the airport and the Russian camp next to it’, a local elected official told newsmen on condition of anonymity.
Two Malian military officials also confirmed the attack had taken place in the town of Sevare, in the Mopti region.
Around 5:30 am (0530 GMT), four loud explosions could be heard, followed by automatic weapons fire, several people on the ground told reporters. Smoke was also seen near the airport.