At least eight soldiers were killed Friday in an ambush on Friday by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso, the Burkinabe army said on Monday.
Following this ambush against a "
military unit between Deou and Oursi (Oudalan Province, Sahel region)
" on Friday, "
the units sent as reinforcements (...) have so far carried out combing operations
“Said a statement from the army staff.
"
At this stage of the operations, the findings make it possible to establish the following provisional assessment: 8 bodies of soldiers found on the battlefield, 3 wounded evacuated and taken care of"
and "
several soldiers still wanted
", he adds. .
Multiplication of attacks
The army affirms that “
about sixty terrorists were killed during the air counter-offensive which targeted the enemy columns which were trying to exfiltrate towards the border in the north
”, towards Mali.
"
Seven armed vehicles and dozens of motorcycles were also destroyed
."
“
All means are currently being implemented to find the soldiers who are still missing
,” says the army, without specifying the number.
It "
invites
" to "
not disseminate reports that are not corroborated by any observation on the ground
".
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Deadly raids attributed to jihadists have multiplied in recent weeks in Burkina.
More than 100 people - civilians and soldiers - have died in the past two, according to an AFP tally.
Burkina Faso, the scene of two military coups in 2022, has been caught since 2015 in a spiral of jihadist violence that appeared in Mali and Niger a few years earlier and which has spread beyond their borders.
The violence left more than 10,000 dead - civilians and soldiers - according to NGOs, and some two million displaced.