Burkina: thirteen "jihadists" killed during a clash in the north

Thirteen "jihadists" were killed on Saturday during a "clash" with the army in the province of Soum, in the north of Burkina Faso, Burkinabè security sources told AFP on Sunday. "A clash between armed terrorist groups and Soum military units on a reconnaissance mission took place on Saturday in the Gasseliki area (Soum province). Thirteen jihadists were killed by units which reacted quickly to enemy contact , " said a security source. "No casualties were recorded on the friendly side , " said another security source, adding that "several rolling machines and war armaments were seized by the armed forces who routed the attackers".

A sweeping operation was launched with reinforcements from the anti-terrorist group, according to the same source.

Read also: Sahel: Burkina Faso plagued by violence

This week, the Burkinabè security forces lost men in several attacks. On Friday, three people including a Burkinabè soldier were killed during an attack on a military patrol in eastern Burkina Faso. Two suspected jihadists were also killed in the attack, security sources said.

On Wednesday, two Burkinabè gendarmes were killed and 47 "terrorists" shot dead during an anti-jihadist operation carried out in Waribéré, about forty kilometers from Barani, in the northwest of Burkina Faso, according to the army staff. .

Finally on Monday, seven people, including two Burkinabè soldiers, died in an attack on a military detachment in the north of the country, claimed by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel affiliated with Al Qaeda.

Read also: Undermined by jihadism, Burkina Faso threatens to collapse

Burkina Faso is plagued by frequent jihadist attacks, often interspersed with inter-community conflicts, which have left nearly 900 dead since 2015, and forced 840,000 people to flee their homes. This violence affects the center of the Sahel, and resulted in 4,000 deaths in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in 2019, according to the UN.