Burkina: at least 11 dead, including three soldiers, in a jihadist attack

At least three soldiers and eight civilian army auxiliaries were killed on Saturday in an attack by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso, security sources told AFP.

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", the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, auxiliary to the army, "

,” a security source told AFP.

Another source from the security services confirmed, speaking of "

".

According to this last source, “

”.

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,” she added.

Second coup in eight months

This attack comes two weeks after a military coup on September 30, perpetrated by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, against Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and the day after Captain Traoré was appointed as president of the transition by national bases.

It was the second coup in Burkina Faso in eight months, linked to the security situation in this country, which has been plagued by jihadist violence for seven years.

Read alsoBurkina: the head of the deposed junta, Damiba has agreed to resign

On January 24, soldiers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba, grouped in a junta called the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration (MPSR), overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, accused of incapacity in the face of attacks. jihadists who have multiplied in Burkina.

They have not ceased in eight months and, faced with the constant deterioration of the situation, a new putsch took place on September 30, which brought to the head of the MPSR Ibrahim Traoré, in order to "

,” according to the junta.

Burkina Faso has been caught in a spiral of violence since 2015 attributed to jihadist movements affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

These regular attacks have claimed thousands of lives and forced some two million people to flee their homes.

More than 40% of the territory escapes the control of the State, in particular on the side of the borders with Mali and Niger.