The government claimed in a statement on Sunday that unidentified attackers attacked the army and volunteer defense forces in northern Burkina Faso and murdered 40 people while injuring 33 others.
The incident occurred on Saturday in the village of Aorema near the town of Ouahigouya in the North Region, not far from the border with Mali, an area dominated by insurgents organisations affiliated to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have carried out strikes there repeatedly for years.
Which group committed the attack is unclear. It happens nine days after 44 people were killed by gunmen in the northern West African communities of Kourakou and Tondobi.
In the attack on Saturday, six soldiers and 34 members of a volunteer defense team perished, according to the statement. To try and end eight years of bloodshed, during which thousands of people have perished and millions have been compelled to abandon their homes, the government has encouraged civilians to join local defense units.
Two military coups were staged in Burkina Faso as a result of the turmoil last year; the military has promised to restore control of the nation but has been unable to stop the attacks.
In Mali in 2012, Insurgents seized control of a Tuareg separatist movement, sparking the start of the region’s unrest. Since then, the violence has expanded to the nearby countries of Burkina Faso and Niger, and it now poses a threat to the stability of other coastal nations.