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Africa North | |
35 civilians killed in double Burkina Faso attack | |
2019-12-25 | |
[AFP via MSN] Jihadists in Burkina Faso killed 35 civilians, almost all of them women, when they simultaneously attacked a town in the north and its military base in one of the deadliest assaults in nearly five years of jihadist violence in the West African country. Seven soldiers and 80 jihadists also died in the double attack Tuesday in Arbinda in Soum province which lasted "several hours" and was of a "rare intensity", the army said. Burkina Faso, bordering Mali and Niger, has seen regular jihadist attacks which have left hundreds dead since the start of 2015 when militant violence began to spread across the Sahel region.
"This barbaric attack resulted in the deaths of 35 civilian victims, most of them women," President Roch Marc Christian Kabore added on Twitter, praising the "bravery and commitment" of the defence and security forces. Brave, brave, Lions of Islam Communications minister and government spokesman Remis Dandjinou later said 31 of the civilian victims were women, adding around 20 soldiers and six civilians were wounded. Related: Burkina Faso: 2019-12-24 France says it carried out first armed drone strike in Mali Burkina Faso: 2019-12-22 France kills 33 militants in Mali raid: president Burkina Faso: 2019-12-12 Niger military camp attack leaves 'at least 60 dead' : Security source | |
Posted by:Frank G |