Five soldiers were killed and thirty "
terrorists killed
" Saturday in northern Burkina Faso, during an attack by suspected jihadists against a military detachment, announced the Burkinabe army staff.
Read alsoIn Burkina Faso, the frenetic spiral of violence
"
The military detachment of Bourzanga
", a town in the province of Bam located in the Center-North region, "
responded vigorously to an attack on its base this Saturday
" by "
terrorists who came in very large numbers and were heavily equipped
", according to an army statement.
He adds that “
five soldiers were mortally wounded and ten others were injured during the fighting
”.
"
The provisional balance sheet established shows at least thirty terrorists killed
", according to the staff, which underlines that the attackers "
had to beat a retreat in the face of the firepower of the elements of the detachment and the intervention of the 'aviation
'.
The army affirms that "
in their stampede, several terrorists, some of whom were injured, merged with the civilian population to try to escape the pursuit of the soldiers
".
“
Securing and securing operations are continuing in the area
,” she adds.
After the alleged jihadists fled, "
weapons (individual and collective), ammunition, motorcycles (around thirty) and means of communication (were) recovered, an armored vehicle and armed pickups, used by the terrorists to attack the base, were also seized
,” the statement said.
Paying tribute to the soldiers killed, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel David Kabré, hailed the soldiers' "
heroic response
" and called on "
all the units involved to remain mobilized around our common objective, which is the reconquest the integrity of our territory
".
On Thursday, eleven soldiers had already been killed in eastern Burkina Faso in an attack by suspected jihadists against a military detachment.
And a week ago, around 40 army auxiliaries and civilians were killed in three alleged attacks in the same areas.
Burkina Faso, particularly the north and east, has been the target of jihadist attacks since 2015 perpetrated by movements affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State which have left more than 2,000 dead and 1.8 million dead. moved.
The country's new strongman, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who overthrew elected President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré at the end of January, accused of being ineffective in the face of jihadist violence, has made the security issue his "
priority
" .
.
After a relative lull when he took power, Mr. Damiba has since faced an upsurge in attacks by suspected jihadists which have killed nearly 200 civilians and soldiers.
