At least 53 Burkina Faso soldiers, volunteers killed in clashes with rebels
Baku, September 6, AZERTAC
At least 53 members of Burkina Faso’s security forces have been killed during heavy clashes with rebel fighters in the country’s north, Al Jazeera reports citing the country’s army.
Seventeen soldiers and 36 volunteers assisting the military were killed during an “attack” in Koumbri commune in Yatenga province on Monday, the army said in a statement on Tuesday.
The security forces had been deployed in the town to enable the resettlement of residents chased out of the area by the fighters more than two years ago, it added.
“This act of extreme cowardice will not go unpunished. Every effort is being made to disable the remaining terrorist elements on the run,” the statement said, adding that several dozen of the fighters were also killed and their combat equipment destroyed.
Operations in the area were still under way, the army said.
Burkina Faso has been ravaged by attacks linked to fighters affiliated with ISIL(ISIS) and al-Qaeda that have killed thousands, displaced more than two million people and pushed tens of thousands to the brink of starvation. Approximately half of the country is outside of government control, conflict analysts say.
Other news in this section
