OUAGADOUGOU: Fourteen civilians were
killed in a jihadist attack in northern Burkina Faso near the Mali border, the
military said on Monday.
The army conducted raids in three
northern provinces in response and said it had “neutralised” 146 militants,
according to a report that AFP could not immediately confirm from an
independent source.
The jihadist attack, which took place in
the town of Kain in the Yatenta province bordering Mali, is one of the most
serious recorded in the country and came on the eve of a G5 Sahel summit in
Ouagadougou.
Army spokesman Colonel Lamoussa Fofana
said in a statement: “On the night of Sunday 3 to Monday, February 4, 2019 a
terrorist attack in Kain left 14 civilian victims.
“In response to this attack, the
national defence and security forces immediately began operations in the Kain,
Banh (Loroum Province, north) and Bomboro (Kossi Province, northwest) areas.
“This counterattack... resulted in a
land and air operation which neutralised 146 terrorists in the three areas,”
the statement said.
A military source confirmed to AFP that
the term “neutralise” meant kill. The army said it suffered “light casualties”
but “no loss of life” during the retaliations, adding that security operations
were continuing in the affected areas.
Both civilians and security forces have
paid a heavy price for jihadist attacks in recent years, with the death toll
now standing at nearly 300 since 2015.
There were three major attacks in the
north alone last month: on January 10, 12 civilians were killed in the village
of Gasseliki; on January 27, 10 civilians were killed in an attack on Sikire;
and on January 28, four soldiers died in a massive jihadist attack in
Nassoumbou. Attacks have also affected the east, and to a lesser extent, the
west of the country.
Source: The News Straits Times - 5
February 2019
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