Burkina Faso: 53 security force members killed in jihadist attack

The army of Burkina Faso said on Tuesday (September 5) that 53 members of the security force had been killed in an attack which is suspected to have been carried out by jihadists in the northern part of the country.

The army general staff released a statement and said that the attack was carried out on Monday. Seventeen soldiers and 36 civilian volunteers for the army were among the dead.

The army added that the unit was deployed in the town of Koumbari in Yatenga province in order to help resettlement of residents who were forced out of the area by jihadists more than a couple of years ago.

About 30 security force members were injured. As the forces retaliated, several attackers were "neutralised" and their combat equipment was destroyed.

Operations are still underway in the area.

Last year, two military coups took place in Burkina Faso. The coups were triggered by failure to tackle jihadist insurgency which has claimed thousands of lives.

Military coups in neighbouring Mali and Niger also find roots in anger against the insurgency.

According to data cited by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), more than 16,000 civilians, troops and police have been killed in jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso since 2015. More than 5,000 have been killed this year alone.

Burkina Faso has also witnessed the internal displacement of two million people. This has made the situation one of the worst crises in Africa.

On June 26, three attacks took place in the Centre-North province. Thirty-one soldiers along with 40 auxiliaries were killed in the attack.

In the month of August, five police and around 20 others were killed in Centre-East province.

The authorities say that more than 65 jihadists were "neutralised" between August 7 and September 1.

The country's strongman is Captain Ibrahim Traore, who took power in September 2022 at the age of just 34, making him the world's youngest leader outside of royalty.

Traore has given an assurance that the country will see a return to democracy with presidential elections by July 2024.

After the military junta took over the country, relations between it and France broke down. France, a former colonial power in the region, was helping the under-equipped Burkinabe army but French troops had to quit the country.

Traore last week held talks with a Russian delegation on development and military cooperation.

On Monday, his foreign minister, Olivia Rouamba, held talks in Tehran with President Ebrahim Raissi in which she said she hoped for "stronger bilateral cooperation" with Iran.

(With inputs from agencies)

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