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Africa Subsaharan
51 Burkina troops killed by in ambush: New army toll
2023-02-21
[AlAhram] At least 51 soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other...
, the army said on Monday, adding that 160 of the assailants died during counter-attacks.

The ambush took place on Friday in Oudalan province near the restive frontier with Mali and Burkina Faso.

By the end of Monday, "43 new bodies had been found, bringing the provisional corpse count to 51 soldiers", the army said in a statement.

Those fatalities were added to an earlier toll of eight soldiers, given by the army on Monday morning.

"Operations are continuing with an intensification of air actions that have made it possible to neutralise around 100 faceless myrmidons and destroy their equipment," the military added.

"This figure is in addition to the 60 or so faceless myrmidons neutralised since the beginning of the response," it added.

Burkina Faso is battling a jihadist insurgency that spread from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

The violence has led to more than 10,000 deaths, according to estimates by NGOs, and displaced some two million people.

Anger within the military at failures to stem the bloodshed led to two coups last year.

Attacks have mounted since the start of the year, claiming more than 100 lives in the last two weeks, according to an AFP count.

In its statement on Monday, the army called on the Burkinabe population "to unite around the defence and security forces in these difficult times".

In Friday's incident, a military patrol was the victim of a "complex" attack between Deou and Oursi in the Sahel region
... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas...
, bordering Mali and Niger.

"Intense fighting" ensued between members of the military unit that had been attacked and "an armed terrorist group," the army said.

Burkina Faso is one of the world's poorest nations and currently around 40 percent of the West African nation lies outside government control.

Last month its former colonial ruler La Belle France confirmed it would withdraw hundreds of troops stationed in Burkina Faso, after the junta ruling the Sahel country demanded the force's pull out within four weeks.

The request came days after Burkina's Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem de Tembela declared Russia to be a "reasonable" choice of new partner in the anti-jihadist fight.
Posted by:trailing wife

#5  Not atoll. [gets all preeny] Hmm, Pic-a-nic did that by theirself.
Posted by: Zenobia Clunk6660   2023-02-21 23:56  

#4  It is a master work.
Posted by: Super Hose   2023-02-21 22:50  

#3  Well done indeed,, Zenobia F!
Posted by: trailing wife   2023-02-21 22:33  

#2  M-Bombing by Muslim Wahine
Takes Terrible Toll on Burkini!
A mummy kabooming,
Her kin Umm Kulthuming.
In Heaven, "One virgin martini."
Posted by: Slolunter McCoy6173   2023-02-21 18:09  

#1  I mistook Burkina for burkini and was originally confused by the idea of gunfire.
Posted by: Super Hose   2023-02-21 14:08  

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