Abidjan – At least 11 police officers were killed in a weekend attack by jihadists in eastern Burkina Faso, security sources told AFP on Wednesday.
A security source told AFP that “several hundred jihadists” attacked a detachment in Balga, in the Gourma province of the country’s East Region.
“Seven police officers were killed during the attack and four others subsequently succumbed to their injuries,” the source said.
The attack was claimed the same day by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
Another security source confirmed the attack, mentioning “casualties and people missing”, without providing further details.
“The victims were all buried at the scene in Balga, in accordance with new measures introduced by the command, which no longer allows bodies to be taken to Ouagadougou or other areas,” they added.
“Since Sunday, police have withdrawn to Diapangou after the attack on their position.”
The junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, which took over in a coup in September 2022, no longer gives details about deadly jihadist attacks and claims to have “reconquered” nearly three-quarters of the country.
But it remains caught in a spiral of violence that has claimed tens of thousands of civilians and military lives since 2015, with more than half of the deaths in the last three years, according to the ACLED conflict monitoring group.
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Source: AFP
