Suspected jihadist attack kills 13 in Burkina Faso

Suspected jihadists have killed 13 people, most of them from the military, in the latest such attack in Burkina Faso’s restive north, the army said Tuesday.

Ten military police officers, two members of an auxiliary force supporting the army, and a civilian died as a result of a “terrorist attack on Monday” in the locality of Falangoutou, the army said in a statement.

Ten other military police officers were missing and another five were wounded in the attack, the army said.

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest and most volatile countries in Africa.

Thousands of troops, police and civilians have been killed and around two million people have fled their homes since jihadists launched an insurgency from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

More than a third of the country lies beyond the control of the government, and frustration within the army at the mounting toll triggered two coups last year.

AFP

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