Burkino Faso army kills 150

BURKINA Faso’s army said it had killed nearly 150 militants in response to an attack on civilians this week, but an international rights group said some had been executed in front of their families.

The army has stepped up operations in response to worsening security across northern Burkina Faso, including attacks by Islamist militants and inter-ethnic clashes, leading to extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests.

The violence in the West Africa’s Sahel region has alarmed former colonial power France and the US, who have deployed thousands of troops to the zone to counter al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked groups.

Militants killed 14 civilians on Monday near the Mali border, the army said. Ground and air operations “neutralised 146 terrorists”, army spokesman Lamoussa Fofana said. But Corinne Dufka, Sahel director for New York-based Human Rights Watch, said some militants were executed in front of the families. | Reuters

MEMBERS of the Honourable Artillery Company fire a gun salute to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 67th anniversary of her accession to the throne, at the Tower of London, yesterday. | Reuters