24 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Islamic State jihadist group that operates in the Sahel region has claimed responsibility this Friday for the ambush perpetrated against the Burkina Faso Army between Deou and Oursi, in the province of Oudalan (north), which resulted in the death of 160 terrorists and 51 military.
The terrorist group has also reported the capture of five other soldiers, as reported on her Twitter profile by Rita Katz, the director of the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization specialized in monitoring terrorist groups.
The Burkinabe Armed Forces first announced the death of eight soldiers and 160 terrorists. Subsequently, the number of soldiers killed rose to 51 from the ambush, the Burkina24 news portal reported.
The Government of Burkina Faso has announced this Friday the start of an “exceptional recruitment” of 5,000 soldiers to strengthen efforts against terrorism after the leader of the Burkina Faso military junta, Ibrahim Traoré, said that it keeps “intact” the determination to continue the fight against terrorism “until the final victory” after the attack in Ouadalan.
Burkina Faso, ruled by a military junta since the January 2022 coup against then-president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, has experienced increased insecurity since 2015. The junta is now headed by Traoré, who starred in a September riot that was considered a “palace coup” against the hitherto leader, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
The continuous attacks in the country, carried out by both the Al Qaeda affiliate and the Islamic State affiliate in the region, have also contributed to an increase in inter-communal violence and have caused self-defense groups to flourish, to which the Burkinabe government has added to ‘volunteers’. The deterioration of security has caused a wave of internally displaced persons and refugees to other countries in the region.
