Forty-four dead in two attacks in Burkina Faso

Authorities say it is not clear which group carried out Thursday's attacks

Reuters

April 09, 2023

Soldiers loyal to Burkina Fasos latest coup leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore gather outside the National Assembly as Traore was appointed Burkina Fasos transitional president in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday, October 14, 2022. —AP/file — Soldiers loyal to Burkina Faso's latest coup leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore gather outside the National Assembly as Traore was appointed Burkina Faso's transitional president in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday, October 14, 2022. —AP/file

OUAGADOUGOU: Authorities said that unknown assailants killed 44 people in two attacks in northern Burkina Faso overnight on Thursday.

The raids occurred in the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi in the Sahel region of the West African country, an area overrun by militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have carried out repeated attacks for years.

It is not clear which group carried out Thursday's attacks. Authorities on Saturday blamed "armed terrorist groups".

Over 2 million people are displaced and thousands have been killed by the violence in Burkina Faso, one of the world's poorest countries.

The unrest triggered two coups last year by the military, which has vowed to retake control of the country but has failed to stem the bloodshed.

Unrest in the region began in Mali in 2012 when Islamists hijacked a Tuareg separatist uprising. The violence has since spread into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, threatening to destabilise coastal countries further afield.