Burkina Faso, in particular in its northern half, has faced since 2015 with the attacks of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaida and the Islamic State which multiply.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
At least 18 civilians, including sixteen army supplies, were killed Thursday, January 19 during two attacks by alleged jihadists in the north and northwest of Burkina Faso, several security sources said on Friday, January 20 .
“The first attack targeted an advanced position for the defense of the homeland (VDP) in Rakoegtega”, a city located in the province of Bam, in the north of the country, announced an official of VDP. According to the same source, “the results of this attack is six volunteers [killed]. A woman also perished during this attack, bringing the balance sheet at seven dead”. “We also recorded a dozen injured, some of whom, seriously affected, were evacuated to Ouagadougou for appropriate care,” continued the official of VDP.
Still according to him, the second attack took place in the province of Nayala, in the northwest of the country, “in the afternoon, when a convoy escorted by volunteers and soldiers fell into a ambuscade on the Siena-Saran “axis”; The attack killed a dozen auxilions and a civilian. Security sources have confirmed the two “jihadist attacks” without giving a precise assessment, evoking only “many losses among the security elements”.
“The reconquest of the territory” as objective
Burkina Faso, in particular in its northern half, has faced since 2015 with attacks by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaida and the Islamic State which are multiplying. They left thousands of deaths and at least two million displaced. Last week, sixty women and infants were removed near Arbinda, in northern Burkina, by alleged jihadists.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, transitional president resulting from a military coup on September 30 – the second in eight months – has given himself “the reconquest of the territory occupied by these hordes of terrorists”.
The power launched a campaign to recruit new auxilions at the end of 2022 to help the army in its fight against jihadists. On the needs estimated at 50,000, 90,000 people have registered. The VDPs receive for the moment a civic and military training of fourteen days before being armed and endowed with means of communication. They pay a heavy price in the attacks of jihadists, who control 40 % of Burkinabé territory.