The death toll from an attack by armed groups in the village of Barsalogho, in central-northern Burkina Faso, has risen to at least 200, with over 300 injured, according to media reports.
The attack, which lasted several hours on Saturday, targeted civilians and security forces, killing community leaders, numerous civilians, and several members of the security forces who responded to the attack.
“In every family, there is at least one person killed,” said a local witness, speaking to French news agency RFI.
Most of the injured were transported to a hospital in Kaya, the regional capital, about 45 kilometres from the site of the attack. Local witnesses spoke of dozens of deaths, particularly among young people, while security forces reported the deaths of numerous colleagues.
A government delegation, including Health Minister Robert Kargougou, Security Minister Mahamadou Sana, and government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo, visited the hospital in Kaya. Ouedraogo, denouncing the attack on national television, described it as a “cowardly and barbaric attack” carried out by “hordes of criminals” who targeted “women, children, the elderly, men, without making any distinction.”
Security Minister Sana assured the public that the Burkinabe armed forces will give “an answer so that the enemy knows that we will never again accept similar barbarism on our territory.”
Egypt condemned the attack on Sunday, expressing solidarity with Burkina Faso in combating terrorism. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, offered condolences to the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
The attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents in Burkina Faso. Jihadist rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have waged a grinding insurgency since 2015, killing thousands and displacing two million people.
The violence in Burkina Faso has also led to tensions with Ukraine. On August 19, the rulers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger wrote to the United Nations Security Council to denounce what they said was Ukraine’s support for rebel groups in West Africa’s Sahel region.
In a joint letter, the three countries denounced the “open and assumed support of the Republic of Ukraine for terrorism internationally, particularly in the Sahel.”
The countries asked the UN to “take responsibility” for Ukraine’s actions and to prevent “subversive acts” that threaten regional and continental stability.
