Burkina Faso’s army says it has lost at least seven soldiers and killed 20 insurgents following militant attacks on two military bases in the north of country.
Four volunteers aiding the army in the fight against militants were also killed in the attacks on Thursday in Loroum and Sanmatenga provinces, according to a military statement.
The army said it seized or destroyed weapons, vehicles and communication equipment used by the attackers.
The violence came a day after a soldier was killed and another wounded in a roadside blast in northern Burkina Faso.
Two weeks ago, fifteen soldiers and six civilians were killed in attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso, neighbouring West African countries that are struggling against armed groups.
Across the border in northern Burkina Faso, simultaneous attacks on military detachments in Gaskinde and Pobe-Mengao killed nine soldiers and six civilians, including two who were members of an armed self-defence group.
Recall, on March 13, at least 13 soldiers were killed and eight others wounded in Burkina Faso’s eastern Gourma province in an ambush by suspected insurgents.
Burkina Faso’s military seized power in a coup in January, overthrowing President Roch Marc Christian Kabore saying that he had failed to stem growing jihadi violence in the once peaceful West African nation.
Kabore has been under house arrest in the capital, Ouagadougou, since his ouster.
The junta has vowed to secure Burkina Faso from growing jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s killed thousands and displaced more than 1.5 million people.
