Ouagadougou – A suspected jihadist attack killed five civilians including a child in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday, the army said.
A “terrorist armed group” attacked soldiers in Barsalogho while another assault targeted civilians on Sunday morning, leaving five people including a child dead, the army said in a statement.
Air strikes “neutralised several terrorists” and destroyed a nearby logistical base to which they were trying to retreat, it added.
Eight soldiers were wounded, evacuated and treated following the attacks, the army said.
France’s military mission in the Sahel, Barkhane, regularly offers airborne support to Burkina Faso’s military.
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Violence by jihadist rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group has plagued the West African state since 2015 and rages in neighbouring Mali and Niger.
Official figures indicate that more than 40 percent of the country’s territory is out of state control.
The fighting has killed thousands and forced almost two million people to flee their homes.
Anger over the government’s failure to stem the violence played a large part in January’s military coup that saw Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba topple elected leader Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
Damiba has made the fight against jihadist rebels a priority, but attacks have continued.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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