Suspected militants on Sunday attacked a Military unit in Burkina Faso, killing 12 troops after a spate of attacks has rocked the West-African nation in the last few weeks.
Recall, on March 14, News Central reported that armed militants killed 30 civilians in Northern Burkina Faso. This was 24 hours after gunmen killed 13 security personnel in Tarpako town, Burkina Faso.
“On Sunday, armed elements attacked a (military) unit around Natiaboani. The provisional toll is twelve fallen soldiers.
“This was a patrol and security team that were attacked by presumed jihadists,” a security source told newsmen
Natiaboani is a rural settlement about 60 kilometres south of Fada N’Gourma, the administrative capital of the Eastern Region, which has been periodically targeted by armed groups since 2018.
According to the country’s communications service, armed individuals kidnapped around 15 young people in nearby Nagre on Friday.
After a time of relative peace after a military junta took control in January, violence has increased in Burkina Faso.
Military officers deposed President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who had faced demonstrations over his handling of the violent jihadist insurgency.
Since 2015, when militants affiliated to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State launched cross-border assaults from Mali, Burkina Faso has been battling jihadist attacks.
The violence has killed over 2,000 people and displaced at least 1.7 million people. 160,000 people abandoned their homes in January alone.