Eleven civilians, including five army auxiliaries, were killed on Sunday and Monday in several attacks by suspected jihadists in the center-east and east of Burkina Faso, AFP learned on Tuesday from local and security sources.
On Sunday, “
four young people returning from Cinkansé (border town of Togo) were intercepted by armed terrorist groups in the village of Bagmoussa in the commune of Soudougui (Centre-Est region).
Three of them were able to escape but the fourth was unfortunately shot dead by the terrorists
,” said a local official reached by telephone by AFP.
Monday morning, women left to bury the body of this man were killed in the explosion of his body trapped with explosives, according to residents.
"
Four women died on the spot
" and "
four others
" were "
seriously injured
", said one of them.
One of these women succumbed to her injuries "
bringing the total death toll to six
", he continued.
According to this source, this attack comes a few days after an army operation which had neutralized dozens of terrorists.
Several terrorists neutralized
On Monday, Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP, civilian army auxiliaries) died in an ambush near Ougarou, a town in the province of Gourma (Eastern region), indicated to the AFP one of their local officials.
"
Five elements unfortunately fell and two were injured
"
,
he said, stressing that "
in their response, they managed to neutralize several terrorists
".
Since 2015, Burkina has been caught in a spiral of violence perpetrated by jihadist groups linked to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, which have caused a total of 10,000 deaths - civilians and soldiers - according to NGOs, and some two million moved.
Despite the multiplication of attacks, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, transitional president who came to power by a putsch almost six months ago, had expressed in February his "
intact determination
" to fight the jihadists.