Burkina Faso: four soldiers killed in a jihadist attack in the North

At least four Burkinabè soldiers were killed and four others are missing on Monday, May 11, during a jihadist attack in Kankanfogouol, a town in the north of Burkina Faso, near the Niger border.  

"A team from the Sebba military detachment, on patrol, was the target of an ambush led by armed terrorist groups (GAT) in Kankanfogouol. The provisional death toll is of four soldiers who died and four others still missing," said to AFP a security source.  

Another security source contacted by AFP confirmed the attack, adding that "combing operations had been undertaken to find the missing elements and to track down the attackers". 

"Kankanfogouol is located a few kilometers from Niger and armed groups pass from one side to the other of the border, thus carrying out attacks in both countries," said the security source.  

Burkina Faso plagued by frequent jihadist attacks

"The health emergency linked to the relentless fight against the Covid-19 should not make us forget the security imperatives. We are bound to remain alert on these two fronts, and I would like here to salute the commitment of our Forces Defense and Security, "Burkinabé President Roch Marc Kaboré wrote on Twitter, but did not mention the attack.  

The health emergency linked to the relentless fight against # Covid-19 should not make us forget the security imperatives.
We are bound to stay alert on these two fronts, and here I would like to salute the commitment of our Defense and Security Forces. # BurkinaFaso pic.twitter.com/JfGcMde8mo

Burkina Faso is frequently the target of jihadist attacks, often intertwined with inter-community conflicts, having killed more than 850 since 2015, and forced nearly 840,000 people to flee their homes. 

Under-equipped and poorly trained, the Burkinabè police do not succeed in stopping the spiral of jihadist violence despite the help of foreign forces, notably from France, present in the Sahel with 5,100 men as part of Operation Barkhane. 

The center of the Sahel is affected by jihadist violence - often interspersed with inter-community conflicts - which left 4,000 people dead in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in 2019, according to the UN. 

With AFP 

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