Thirty-three civilians were killed on Thursday (May 11th) in an attack by suspected jihadists in western Burkina Faso, plagued by regular violence that began in 2015. "On the evening of Thursday, May 11, around 17:00 (GMT and local), the village of Youlou in the department of Tcheriba, province of Mouhoun, suffered a cowardly and barbaric terrorist attack," said Saturday the governor of the region of the Boucle du Mouhoun, Babo Pierre Bassinga, in a statement.
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The armed men targeted peaceful citizens engaged in their market gardening activities along the river," added Babo Pierre Bassinga, adding that the "provisional toll" is "33 people killed". Local sources confirmed the presence of "heavily armed" assailants and "on motorcycles", who "shot" at market gardeners "indiscriminately", adding that the victims were buried on Friday.
Residents of Tcheriba also claim that three people were shot and wounded. They report fires of houses and granaries, before the retreat of the perpetrators of the attack. According to the governor, "security actions are underway". He invited the people to "redouble their vigilance and continue collaboration with the fighting forces for a total victory against terrorism and a definitive return to peace and security in the region".
Series of attacks
This attack comes after the kidnapping of a prefect by armed men, found dead Monday in a forest in the west of the country. At the end of April, 33 soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists in the east and twelve were wounded. On 18 April, at least 24 people, including 20 civilian army auxiliaries, were killed in two attacks by suspected jihadists in the centre-east.
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On 15 April, six soldiers and 34 civilian auxiliaries were killed during the assault on their detachment in the north of the country. The state of emergency, in force since March in eight of the country's thirteen regions, was extended Friday by six months by the Transitional Legislative Assembly. Established since 2018 in some localities before expanding, the state of emergency and its extension aim in particular to "give more opportunities and means to the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) (to) continue their actions to secure the country," according to Justice Minister Bibata Nebié Ouedraogo.
In mid-April, the transitional authorities in Burkina Faso also decreed "general mobilization", in order to "give the State all the necessary means" to deal with jihadist attacks. 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 ago and has spread beyond their borders. Over the past seven years, the violence has left more than 10,000 dead - civilians and soldiers - according to NGOs, and more than two million displaced.