June 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Burkina Faso Army has assured this Friday that seven “terrorists” have been “neutralized” after the security forces repelled an ambush in the North region, amid a rise in insecurity due to attacks by jihadist groups. .
Thus, it has specified in a statement that the ambush was set against a unit of the 12th Infantry Commando Regiment during “a reconnaissance mission” between the towns of Ouahigouya and Thiou, in the province of Yatenga.
“The surveillance of the elements in front of the patrol made it possible to address the enemy device before it took action, which made it possible to abort this disastrous project,” he stated, before stressing that weapons, motorcycles and security systems have been seized. communication.
In this sense, he has stressed that a search operation has been launched in the area due to the possible presence of more suspects, without ruling on possible casualties among the military. “The chief of the Army General Staff congratulates the elements for this quick reaction, which reinforces the dynamic of victories in progress,” he concluded.
On the other hand, security sources cited by the Burkinabe state news agency, AIB, have indicated that military planes “neutralized” several suspects in bombardments in the Kankanmogre forest, in the Center-East region.
These sources have specified that the suspects had hidden among cattle that they had stolen in the area, while they have reported that close to “a hundred” terrorists had been located in the area, without yet having a balance of victims.
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 Ibrahim Traoré, who starred in September a coup 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.
