Burkina Faso ambush kills 13 soldiers: Sources

Suspected militants have ambushed and killed 13 soldiers in Burkina Faso’s eastern

province, security sources told AFP on Sunday in the latest violence to shake the insurgency-torn west African nation.

Four members of the defence forces were also wounded in Saturday’s attack

along the road linking Fada N’gourma with Natiaboani, one of the sources said.

“Reinforcements have been deployed to secure the zone and carry out a search,” a second source added, confirming the casualty toll. The unit that came under fire had been sent to relieve a detachment from Natiaboani.

The ambush comes after the powerful Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), which is linked to AlQaeda, claimed on Friday it carried out an attack on a military base in Djibo, a major northern town that has been under a militant blockade for three months.

The army said at least 10 soldiers died and 50 were wounded in that ‘terrorist’ assault on the 14th regiment on Monday. The army added it killed 18 ‘terrorists’ in mopping-up operations. GSIM also claimed responsibility for an attack on a supply convoy heading for Djibo on September 26 that left 37 dead - 27 of them soldiers. Dozens of truck drivers are still missing.

That assault helped trigger the latest coup in Burkina just four days later, led by young army captain Ibrahim Traore.

He became interim president on October 21, vowing to win back territory from militants. It was Burkina’s second coup in eight months, driven by a seven-year insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven nearly two million people from their homes.

The new government on Wednesday declared securing

the Sahel state’s territory would be top priority.

More than a third of national territory remains outside government control.