About Forty-four civilians have been killed by “armed terrorist groups” in two villages in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the Niger border, a regional governor said on Saturday. Jihadis launched "despicable and barbaric" attacks on the Kourakou and Tondobi villages in Seno province on Thursday and Friday, said Lt Col PF Rodolphe Sorgho. Sorgho said that 31 people had died in Kourakou and 13 in Tondobi. The regional official said that an army offensive put “out of action the armed terrorist groups” that carried out the killings. The governor also assured that “actions to stabilise the area are underway”.
The impoverished Sahel country is grappling with a seven-year-old campaign by jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Burkina Faso’s new military chief this week vowed to step up a “dynamic offensive” against jihadists following a string of insurgent attacks since the start of the year.
“The dynamic offensive underway in the past few weeks will be stepped up to force armed groups to lay down their weapons,” said Colonel Celestin Simpore after a handover ceremony following his appointment last week.
In February, IS claimed responsibility for murdering over 70 soldiers, wounding dozens and taking five hostage in an ambush on a military convoy in the north.
A few weeks earlier, jihadis killed at least 32 people, including soldiers and civilians, in multiple attacks across the country.
According to the United Nations, the violence has generated the worst humanitarian crisis in the history of the country (with 4.7 million people), leaving one in five citizens, in need of humanitarian assistance.
