Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré declared national mourning for two days starting on Sunday (26) after the death of 41 people, including civilians and army auxiliaries, in an attack carried out by suspected extremists on Thursday in northern region of the country.
“The tracking mission in the ambush area carried out by armed terrorist groups against a column of Volunteers for the Defense of the Motherland (VDP) and civilians on December 23 (…) established the toll of 41 deaths,” said the spokesman for the government, Alkassoum Maiga, in a statement.
“The president declares a national mourning period of 48 hours”, the text adds.
In its fight against extremist groups, the ill-equipped Burkina Faso army relies on the VDP, civilian auxiliaries with only 15 days’ training and who pay a high price in the anti-jihadist struggle.
The president had already paid tribute on Friday to Ladji Yoro, considered a leader of the VDP, who died in the attack.
The government said that it continues with the process of identifying the victims and that it “strongly condemns barbarism”.
According to press reports in Burkina Faso, an ambush by extremists on Thursday attacked a convoy of traders, escorted by VDPs, in the north of the country.
This attack was the most violent in the country since the attack in Inata (North) in November, when 57 people, including 53 police officers, were murdered, which provoked the population’s uprising and led the country’s president to change his ministry.
Like neighboring Mali and Niger, Burkina Faso has suffered a spiral of violence since 2015, attributed to armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. At least 2,000 people died and 1.4 million were forced to flee their homes.
Attacks against civilians and military are increasingly frequent, especially in the north and east of the country.
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