In Burkina Faso, inhabitants evoke “horror film” after jihadist attack in east

According to the villagers, only volunteers for the defense of the Fatherland (VDP), civil army auxiliaries, have been defended the village.

Mo12345lemonde with AFP

Residents of eastern Burkina Faso spoke on Monday, February 27, a “horror film” on Monday, February 27, describing the attack, in the unknown report, of their commune by alleged jihadists the day before, where they say they were abandoned by the army. “A horror film happened in our city, Partiaga,” said a collective of this locality in a statement read to the press in the capital Ouagadougou.

According to these inhabitants, who relate testimonies from their loved ones, survivors, Sunday around 5:30 am (local and GMT), armed groups attacked partiaga, destroying most of the administrative buildings and burning concessions and grain granaries.

According to this collective, who mentioned dead but was unable to give a precise assessment of the attack, this drama occurred when the army had abandoned the village. Despite the call for help from the inhabitants “for more than two weeks” the defense and security forces have left the locality by being “aware of having abandoned the populations”, they said.

More than 10,000 dead since 2015 2>

According to these villagers, only volunteers for the defense of the Fatherland (VDP), civilian army auxilions, have been defended the village. “It is a massacre. The village was completely ransacked and burned. The terrorists surrounded the locality for days before launching their attack,” confirmed a survivor of the attack, attached by phone by AFP, deploring “Several dead”. A security source citing survivors also mentioned “dead”, without being able to give a specific assessment.

Monday, the collective of the inhabitants of Partiaga launched an “vibrant appeal to the authorities” to “undertake strong actions and large -scale operations in the Eastern region and to establish an exact assessment of the drama. Monday afternoon, the authorities of Burkina Faso did not express themselves on this attack.

Last week, the army announced a “provisional assessment” of 51 dead in an ambush that targeted soldiers on February 17 in the far north of the country. It was the deadliest attack since the coming to power of Captain Ibrahim Traoré during a putsch in late September 2022. And last Monday, at least fifteen soldiers died, still in the North, near From the Malian border, according to security sources.

Burkina Faso has experienced a revival of jihadist violence since the beginning of the year, with several dozen dead – civil or military – almost every week. The violence has given more than 10,000 dead since 2015 according to NGOs and some two million inappropriates.

/Media reports cited above.