Sep. 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government of Burkina Faso has raised the number of soldiers killed in the attack perpetrated on Monday against a convoy in the town of Gaskindé (north) to eleven and has indicated that at least 50 civilians have been reported missing after the event.
In its statement, it has indicated that the “cowardly and barbaric” attack has left a “provisional balance” of eleven soldiers dead and 28 wounded — 20 soldiers, a “volunteer” and seven civilians –, while it has conveyed its condolences to the families of the victims.
“The Government reaffirms its commitment to all the patriotic forces in the fight against terrorism and to uphold the oath to defend and liberate our people from the clutches of the obscurantist forces that want to impose themselves through violence and terror”, he stated.
For its part, the Army has launched a counteroffensive in this area, located in the province of Soum, to try to locate those responsible for the attack, according to the Burkina Faso state news agency, AIB.
The leader of the military junta of Burkina Faso, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, recently warned before the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations that terrorism in the region “jeopardizes” international peace and security, since “no measure” it will be able to prevent the spread of terrorism if the Sahel is left alone.
Burkina Faso, led by a military junta since the January coup against then-president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, has generally experienced a significant increase in insecurity since 2015, leading to a wave of internally displaced persons. and refugees to other countries in the region.
The attacks, the work of both the affiliate of Al Qaeda and that of the Islamic State in the region, have also contributed to increasing inter-community violence and have caused self-defense groups to flourish, to which the Burkinabe government has added ‘volunteers ‘ to help in the fight against terrorism.
