Attacks on Burkina army base, villages kill dozens, say sources

An attack on a military base in northern Burkina Faso killed multiple soldiers, while a separate assault in the south left dozens of civilians dead, sources told Reuters on Monday, underscoring spiralling insecurity in the junta-led country.

The army base in Djibo came under attack on Sunday morning, and a police station and market were also targeted, two security sources said.

Soldiers, pro-government militiamen and civilians were among the dead, though a comprehensive toll was not available as of Monday, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the government.

"Many of our men have fallen, soldiers as well as [militia] fighters. Arms have also been taken. On the population side too, there were many losses in human life," one of the sources said.

The Djibo base has come under attack multiple times, including in October 2022, when 10 soldiers were killed and 50 wounded, according to an army statement at the time.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack. The area is near where Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM operates.

Burkina Faso is ruled by Ibrahim Traore who seized power in a coup in 2022, promising to turn the tide against a jihadist insurgency that has spread across the region since it first took root in Mali 13 years ago.

Militant attacks persist in much of the country.

In the southern province of Koulpelogo, near the border with Togo, three villages — Bousgou, Salemboare and Yonde — came under attack over several days starting on Thursday evening of last week, killing at least 58 civilians, according to Segda Bila, a member of the committee tasked with burying the dead.

Burkina Faso's military government has faced criticism by rights groups over measures it has taken in the name of national security. On Monday Human Rights Watch said the army had "participated in the massacre of more than 130, possibly many more, ethnic Fulani civilians" carried out by pro-government militia fighters in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region in March.

A government spokesperson in March dismissed images circulating online purporting to depict those killings as a "disinformation campaign" of "false information aimed at undermining social cohesion".

The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Reuters