Burkina Faso: at least twelve dead in a suspected jihadist attack in the north of the country

Burkina Faso is still plagued by jihadist attacks.

This Saturday, at least twelve civilians were killed during the attack on a locality by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso, according to local and security sources.

“Saturday afternoon, armed men attacked Bani”, a locality located about 40 km from Dori in the Sahel region, said a resident.

The first toll was initially twelve dead, before another witness to the attack mentioned the figure of “thirteen dead”.

A security source confirmed the attack by referring to "a heavy toll", without giving a figure.

A first resident told AFP that the armed men "targeted the police station, the town hall and a school".

"Concessions (homes) and a mosque were hit by the gunfire of the attackers before the response of defense and security forces," he added.

A second witness indicated that “they were men on motorcycles, who attacked the city (…) and several targets”.

“Disappearing” people

"This balance sheet is likely to increase, because we have missing and wounded", he added.

The security source confirmed that there were “cases of missing persons, but the search is continuing”.

"Several armed individuals were also neutralized in the response and the hunt that followed," she said.

As a reminder, Ouagadougou requested on January 22 the departure of French soldiers, present in the country to fight against the jihadist groups raging in the region, within a month.

Several demonstrations recently took place in the capital to demand the withdrawal of France, a former colonial power, from this Sahelian country which hosts a contingent of nearly 400 French special forces.

On January 26, two other jihadist attacks caused the death of at least a dozen civilians in the center-west of the country, 140 km from the capital.