Burkina army kill 13 jihadists, destroyed camp
OUAGADOUGOU - At least 13 jihadists have been killed and a “terrorist logistics site” destroyed in a response to armed attacks in northern and eastern Burkina Faso, the west African country’s army said on Monday.
On Sunday, an air and land operation was mounted following an attack on the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) militia in Beleyanga in the Sahel region, said a statement from the Burkinabe chief of staff.
The military was able to “neutralise around 10 terrorists, destroy weapons and about 15 motorbikes”, it said.
Meanwhile, a sweep carried out after an attack against a military detachment in Tankoualou, in the eastern region, also led to “the neutralisation of three terrorists and the recovery of weapons, ammunition and various other materials”, it said.
There were no casualties on the government side, the statement said.
During the operations, aerial reconnaissance revealed a “terrorist logistical site in a forest in the vicinity of the town of Dablo”, in the northcentral region, according to the army.
“The site containing fuel, sleeping equipment, food and various other materials was destroyed”.
Burkina Faso, a poor country in the arid sub-Saharan Sahel region, has been confronted since 2015 with increasingly frequent and deadly attacks by jihadist groups affiliated with the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda.
These attacks along with intercommunal violence have left more than 1,400 people dead and forced 1.3 million to flee their homes, according to official estimates.