"The Burkinabè government has learned with dismay and indignation at the death of 36 Burkinabè in the province of Sanmatenga, following a terrorist attack," Communication Minister Remis Fulgance Dandjinou said on Tuesday (January 21st) in a press release.

On Monday January 20, gunmen first attacked passers-by at the Nagraogo market before setting it on fire, killing 32 people, the statement said. Four others died in the village of Alamou when the terrorists withdrew.

Faced with these "repeated attacks" against the populations, the government launched a call for "frank collaboration with the Defense and Security Forces and the strengthening of solidarity between Burkinabè". President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré has decreed "national 48-hour mourning from Wednesday January 22 to Thursday January 23".

Hundreds of people fled the area to take refuge in Kaya, according to residents of this city contacted by AFP. Located just below the province of Soum, bordering Mali, the province of Sanmatenga is also very affected by jihadist attacks. It hosts numerous camps for refugees and internally displaced persons.

Volunteers against the jihadists

The Burkinabè Parliament unanimously adopted a law Tuesday allowing the recruitment of local volunteers in the fight against jihadism. According to a document consulted by AFP, the volunteers, whose minimum age is 18 years, will be recruited in their areas of residence, after approval of the local populations, in general assembly. After 14 days of military training, they will exercise surveillance, information and protection missions.

On the ground, these volunteers will have light weapons, means of communication and observation. Their task will be to provide information and defend the territory at their place of residence in the event of an attack while waiting for the defense and security forces to deploy there, according to the Minister of Defense, Moumina Chériff Sy.

Burkina Faso, bordering Mali and Niger, is facing jihadist attacks that have left more than 750 dead and 560,000 displaced since 2015.

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Under-equipped and poorly trained, the Burkinabè police do not succeed in stopping the spiral of jihadist violence. However, they have claimed a series of successes for two months, claiming to have killed a hundred jihadists in several operations.

According to the UN, jihadist attacks in Mali, Niger and Burkina killed 4,000 in 2019.

With AFP

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