Governor Reports 44 Fatalities in Burkina Faso Due to ‘Terrorist’ Attacks

According to the lieutenant-governor of the Sahel region, Rodolphe Sorgho, two villages in northeastern Burkina Faso were attacked by “armed terrorist groups,” resulting in the deaths of 44 civilians and injuries to others. The villages of Kourakou and Tondobi were targeted in the overnight attack on Thursday. Sorgho confirmed that 31 people were killed in Kourakou and 13 in Tondobi. An army offensive was launched to take down the groups responsible for the killings. The attack occurred near Seytenga, where 86 civilians were killed in June 2022. Burkina Faso has been dealing with a seven-year insurgency by jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. The new military chief has vowed to increase the offensive against the jihadists. Sorgho urged the local population to join the pro-junta movement and enrol in the volunteer militia. Since 2015, more than 10,000 civilians, troops, and police have been killed, and at least two million people have been displaced due to the jihadist campaign. Burkina Faso experienced two coups last year, and since then, all political parties and civil society organisations’ activities have been suspended.