Ouagadougou – A single soldier and 39 suspected jihadists died in a 10-day security operation in volatile northwestern Burkina Faso, the army said on Friday.
The sweep completed last Saturday was planned to restore security to Banwa province near the Mali border, an area which has been wracked by violence.
“Offensive land operations combined with air strikes and artillery brought major tactical results,” an army statement said.
“Terrorist bases” had been dismantled and their occupants “put out of action”.
The statement listed “at least 15 terrorists killed” on December 2 at Bolomakote in Bondokuy department and a military ambush on December 7 in which 24 suspects were killed near Ouarkoye.
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“Unfortunately one soldier lost his life at the very start of the operation. We also registered a dozen soldiers wounded,” the army said.
One of the world’s poorest countries, Burkina has been battling a jihadist insurgency since 2015.
Thousands of civilians and members of the security forces have died and around two million people have been displaced.
Disgruntled army officers have carried out two coups this year in a show of anger at failures to roll back the insurgency.
Captain Ibrahim Traore, who took over as president after a coup on September 30, has declared his intention to win back territory occupied by the “terrorist hordes”.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@macronniefafi
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