At least 19 gendarmes and one civilian were killed on Sunday in an attack by suspected jihadists against the gendarmerie detachment in Inata, northern Burkina Faso, the army and government said.
Read also The mysterious reappearance in Mali of the ex-hostage Sophie Pétronin causes an outcry
Sunday "
around 5:30 am (GMT and local), the gendarmerie detachment of Inata (...) was the subject of a terrorist attack
", indicated the staff of the armies in a press release. "
We have as a provisional toll 20 dead, including a civilian,
" said the Minister of Security, Maxime Koné, on national radio. The minister said that the attacked gendarmes "
resisted and fought bravely
" and that there were "
survivors who were found
".
"
The operations are still underway and the search work
" for possible other survivors and attackers continued Sunday evening in this "
particularly
large
area
", he added. According to a security source, the attack, which occurred in the province of Soum (Sahel region), was carried out by "
a large number of armed individuals
" circulating "
on board several pick-ups and motorcycles
" . He spoke of "
long exchanges of fire
" between the attackers and the gendarmes.
This attack is one of the deadliest against the Burkinabè defense and security forces since Burkina Faso has been confronted with jihadist actions, which began in this country six years ago.
Another attack took place Sunday morning in Kelbo, another town in the same province of Soum, said Minister of Communication and government spokesman Ousséni Tamboura.
Helicopter flight
"
Fortunately, this attack was repelled by the soldiers, helped by the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland
" (VDP), civilian auxiliaries engaged in the anti-jihadist fight alongside the defense and security forces, "
without making any
effort.
victims,
”he said. A local elected official, contacted by AFP, spoke of helicopter overflights in the area "
since this morning
", saying that the day before "
two civilians, especially women, were killed by an explosive device
" in the province of Soum.
On Friday, seven police officers were killed and five wounded in an attack in Alkoma, in the neighboring province of Séno, in northeastern Burkina Faso, according to the general direction of the police.
Burkina Faso has been facing regular and deadly jihadist attacks since 2015, particularly in the northern and eastern regions, in the so-called “
three borders
” area, on the borders of Mali and Niger, two countries also facing to the operations of armed jihadists.
Read alsoMali and Russia resolved to continue their military cooperation
The violence, sometimes mixed with intercommunal clashes, has left around 2,000 dead and forced 1.4 million people to flee their homes.
On Tuesday, the Burkinabè opposition demanded "
urgent measures
" in the face of the "
deterioration of the security situation
" after the upsurge in jihadist attacks, threatening to take to the streets to demand the "
immediate resignation of the head of state
", Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
President Kaboré had put the fight against "
terrorism
" at the heart of the campaign for his re-election for a second five-year term at the end of 2020.
